Spark
by Pixie photos
Summary: Sam, Dean and Zoe have been heading for Washington for what feels like an age. With all of heaven and hell wanting their heads, their hope of survival is getting smaller. Until they meet the rag tag group of survivors. Could they be the salvation the trio are looking for? Can love bloom in such a desolate place? Or will this group destroy everything? (Daryl x OFC)
1. Introductions

Authors note: it's been a really long time, so you will have to bear with me, I'm just getting back into this. I'm also currently working on my own novel to be sent to publishing so it may be a little while between updates. My promise is I will try and be frequent though.

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 1**

"How many walkers have you killed?"

Zoe's head was swimming, every muscle in her body ached but she refused to let it show, she kept her hand on her knife clipped to her thigh and eyed the group in front of them.

"Hundreds," Sam's voice was gravelly, exhausted, but he held his ground. They'd been through too much already, too much to go back.

There was a pause.

"How many people have you killed?"

Unnervingly determined green eyes met with Zoe's piercing blue irises, before crossing to Sam's hazel ones a silent conversation, a silent agreement, passing between the three of them.

"Thousands."

At the sound of Dean's response Zoe's eyes flickered over to where the man holding the crossbow flinched, his eyebrows narrowing, his teeth gnawing at the inside of his bottom lip. Had Zoe not had the training and experience she did she probably wouldn't have thought anything of it, but she knew better.

He was waiting for someone's order.

"Thousands? Really?" the main man's voice crackled as he spoke, he was covered in sweat, his clothes tore and bloodied. But it was his eyes that the three noticed, they were haggard and exhausted much like the rest of his wiry frame. He had the look of someone that had seen far too much in such a short time frame, he looked like he had experienced more than he thought possible and done so many things he never thought he would, or could. Zoe knew that look because it was the same one that Sam had carried on his face for years, the weight of death and destruction and absolute chaos echoing out and manifesting itself in the forms of heavy lines and tired eyes.

"Yes," Zoe spoke finally, her voice sounding so much smaller than everyone else's, "thousands. We've been doing this a really long time."

"Doing what?" the woman with short grey hair asked tentatively.

"Hunting things," Zoe looked down at her blood soaked hands.

"Hunting things don't mean you had to kill people," the man with the crossbow spat.

Dean's eyes narrowed, "you can't make that call. You have no idea the kind of hell we've seen."

"If it's anything like the hell _we've _seen," the main man interjected, "then yeah we _do_ have an idea."

Sam's hand balled into a tight fist as his brother took a step forwards, his face inches from the other man's. Everyone seemed to react, all hands going to guns, knives, crossbows and any other array of weaponry they all had.

"No," Dean's voice was a gravelly bark, "you don't. You never will."

"Look," Zoe stepped forward, her hand resting on Dean's forearm, "if you people are looking for a reason to stick with us or whatever it is you want to do then we aren't going to give you one. We aren't like other survivors you have more than likely run into over the past few months."

The two brothers watched the group closely, hunters' eyes following prey, survivors' eyes seeking out threats, "we aren't here to hurt anyone, we aren't here to cause problems. We also aren't here to accumulate followers or settle down with some group for safety. Trust me when I tell you this, we have been travelling a long time, we have seen so much more than you can even begin to fathom and the worst part is that those 'walkers' as you call them, aren't even the beginning of bad stuff out there."

All eyes were watching her, "You're better off just letting us go on our way, forget you ever saw us just turn around and walk away."

"Why?" the man with the crossbow's voice was soft, passively aggressive, but soft, "why should we just let you go?"

"Why shouldn't we try and help you? Try and save you?" the large darker man holding a tiny baby added.

Dean couldn't help the bitter laugh that passed his lips, "we're so far beyond saving man. You people are better off without us, you stand a better chance at _living_, without us."

The slender darker skinned woman spoke this time, "you don't think you deserve to live? Don't think you can be saved?"

Zoe's ocean blue eyes flickered over to where Dean stood, slightly in front of his brother. Always protecting the people he loved, always willing to die for someone else's life. His green eyes fell to meet hers, an even gaze that spoke so many more truths than that little group could possibly understand. Sam let his head fall, his jaw set as he tried to push the thoughts of the coming months out of his mind. The question hung heavy, though it didn't get the opportunity to be answered because just as Sam went to speak a blood curdling scream filled the air around them quickly followed by the begging and pleading for someone to help.

Without skipping a beat Zoe, Dean and Sam were off at a sprint, their legs hammering against the shrubs as they followed the sound, the group hurrying along behind them. When they broke through the clearing a man dressed in an entirely black suit, a white clerical collar visible, was perched on top of a boulder screaming as he kicked frantically at the decaying zombie hand that held fast to his scuffed shoe. Zoe pulled up short and waited as the two boys surged forwards. Within a few seconds the others had charged in to help disperse the corpses and as quickly as it had all started it was over. The priest, as Zoe realised he was, slid down from the rock, his eyes wide a look of sheer disgust and fear still plastered on his face. Before anyone could say anything he was keeling over and expelling almost the entire contents of his stomach onto the ground beneath him. The Winchester boys didn't seem to be in the slightest bit bothered by the scene, they'd seen far worse things than vomit and blood. The same man that had just been interrogating the three stepped up and started the process with the newcomer.

Dean turned his back towards the group, his green eyes flickering between his little brother and their companion, "we have to keep moving, we can't afford to hang around here any longer than we already have."

Sam's eyebrows knitted together, "these people don't exactly seem like the type to try and kill us though Dean. I mean, if they were going to do that don't you think they would have already done it by now?"

Dean gave his brother an even glare. Sam always wanted to see the best in people, even after everything they had experienced together, everything they had been through to get to that point. Even if Dean would never admit it openly, there was a large part of him that envied his brother for that.

"Sure, they would have done it by now, but Sam, we can't stay here, we have heaven and hell on our asses we can't expose more people to that. They've seen enough as it is, they don't deserve that kind of madness, plus we need to get to Washington before we get stuck in a standoff all over again."

At 5'3" Zoe was tiny in comparison to the Winchester brothers, but she had been trained in the same way and had spent enough time with them to hold her own without having to bat an eyelid. She was lean, with a more athletic body than a skinny one, she had powerful legs and Dean was forever making comments about her biceps being nearly the same size as his. Of course the reality was she was strong because she had to be, lifting heavy weapons, killing monsters and breaking dead men's skulls wasn't exactly an easy pastime. She had piercing electric blue eyes that were made only the more luminous by the length of black hair she was sporting. She had met the boys some ten years prior, a scared, demon possessed sixteen year old that had managed somehow to fight for her body back. From that moment on Sam and Dean had protected her, cared for her and taken her on practically as their sister. Though as the years went on and her skills grew, she needed them less and less, but she had never once strayed from them. Through everything they had experienced, through hell, literally, she had been with those boys and there was no way that some minor apocalypse was going to change that.

"What do you mean you have heaven and hell on your asses?" the three of them turned to see one of the girls staring at them intently, her brown eyes wide as she waited for their response.

Sam cleared his throat, his hand running through his hair absently, "it's a long story."

"Well, the good Father here says he has a place we are going to check out, so we got more than enough time to hear it," the very first man said with a rather stern look.

The three exchanged looks, Sam glaring incredulously at Dean before speaking first, "well how about we start with names, I'm Sam, this is my brother Dean and our friend Zoe."

The man looked him up and down, almost weighing him up before he replied, "I'm Rick."

Dean folded his arms over his chest with an unimpressed glare, he hated pleasantries.

"Let's get moving, we can do the other introductions as we go," Rick said after a long pause , without too much hesitation the three followed after the rest of the group, falling back a little as they all made small talk with the Father.

"I don't know why we are hanging around with these people, no point getting to know people that are just going to die anyway," Dean hissed as they trudged their way through the undergrowth.

"We aren't staying long Dean," Zoe remarked with an exhausted sigh, "we'll check this place out then leave. No point getting invested. Everyone we meet just ends up dead anyway."

Sam gave the young girl a sideways glance before nodding a little, he hated how cynical and isolated they had become, but the sad reality was, they didn't have a choice. Zoe was right, everyone they ever met and cared for was gone, and most of the time it was because of them.

"Speaking of dead people, does anyone else think that girl," Sam nodded towards one of the women with short cropped brown hair and knee high boots, "looks a whole lot like Bella?"

Dean smirked a little, his green eyes flaring with a humour Zoe hadn't seen in a very long time, "look Sammy, I know these are the first women that you've seen in a while but I hate to break it to you, not everyone looks like Bella. No matter how hot you think she was."

Zoe couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face as Sam gaped at his brother, his foot getting caught on a rock causing him to stumble as he struggled for some sort of witty retort.

"Shut up Dean," was all he could come up with and, for the briefest of moments, Zoe thought that maybe they did stand a chance at being normal again. Maybe everything wasn't as utterly hopeless as they had thought.


	2. A simple change of mind

Authors note: it's been a really long time, so you will have to bear with me, I'm just getting back into this. I'm also currently working on my own novel to be sent to publishing so it may be a little while between updates. My promise is I will try and be frequent though.

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 2**

Dean hated churches. He hated a great many things, but churches were close to the top of his list. Something about them unnerved him. Maybe it was the enormous overbearing crosses everywhere, maybe it was the countless bad experiences he had had inside them, or maybe it was just that his faith in that sort of thing was so shattered he couldn't take it seriously. Whatever it was, he felt oddly uneasy whenever he entered a church and this one was absolutely no different. Sam came to stand beside his brother as Zoe cautiously took a look around.

"It's too clean," Sam's voice was low, his shoulders hunched slightly as his gaze followed Zoe around the pews.

Dean adjusted the pack on his back and nodded as Zoe came to stand beside him once more, "We need to keep moving."

"Why do you want to leave so badly?" three sets of eyes fell on the woman with short grey hair watching them.

There was something in her look that unsettled Zoe though. Something dark, "We just need to keep moving. Who are you anyway?"

"Sorry, I'm Carol," she extended her hand.

When neither Zoe nor Dean moved to embrace the gesture Sam jumped in, "I'm Sam, this is my brother Dean and Zoe."

"You guys have been out there a while huh?" Carol's eyes were on Zoe, boring into the young girl as she shifted uncomfortably.

"No longer than anyone else," Dean interjected, stepping a little closer to the young girl at his side.

"Where you guys from? You don't sound local," the slender Asian man came over to their little group, the Bella-look-a-like, as Dean called her, following him, "I'm Glenn, and this is my wife Maggie."

The two shared a heartbreakingly mushy glance before looking back to the three expectantly.

"Kansas, originally," Sam responded, his hazel eyes falling back to the two next to him.

"Wow you guys are a pretty long way from home," Maggie exclaimed.

Zoe dragged her dried out bottom lip between her teeth, snagging a little bit of skin as she did so, "we move around a lot."

"Where was your main base though? Where did you go back to? Your home I guess I should say."

Zoe gave a sad half smile, her blue eyes heavy, "we never had a home."

There were two common reactions that the three of them received whenever they told people that they didn't have a home to go back to, the first was sheer, pity, as if they were some sort of charity case that needed saving. The second, which was a little rarer but a little more unnerving, was intrigue. This time was neither though.

A thick, gravely southern accent caught them all off guard, "none o' that matters anyways, not like any of us got homes now."

Zoe's blue eyes were met with equally electric ones, her heart seemed to hitch a little as he looked her over quickly.

"This is Daryl," Carol said with a smile, her grey eyes creasing at the sides with her beaming smile.

"Fantastic," Dean sighed, "can we leave now?"

Sam shot his brother a look, "Dean."

"No don't 'Dean' me Sammy, we aren't here to play happy families," he adjusted the backpack again, a nervous twitch he had developed over the past months, "we don't know these people, we don't owe them anything and we sure as hell don't have to stay here."

"You're right, you're welcome to leave whenever you want," Rick was walking down the aisle towards them, his eyes set on his weapon as he took stock of his ammunition, "but we are doing a food and weapons run first. I don't trust you people, but I don't much like the idea of not sending you off with at least a little bit of a refuelling."

Dean still wasn't comfortable though, his eyes kept searching the place, watching how the people moved, how they carried themselves and more importantly how they interacted with each other. It was something his father had taught him when he was young, something so ingrained in him that even when things were quiet he was watching people, watching the world.

"That's nice of you," Zoe replied, her hands resting on her hips, "but we really don't need anything. Better you save it for yourselves, there's more of you after all."

A heavy silence fell over the group, all eyes going to Rick, clearly marking him as their leading man.

"Fine," his heavy eyes staring down at his boots for a moment his next sentence sounding more forced, "then can you help us before you go?"

Dean's eye twitched, apprehension pooling off of him like smoke, "help with what?"

"Help us carry supplies, get some water that sort of thing, the more able bodies there are, the more we can get back," Rick was matching Dean's unwavering look.

Ever since the day his father had died Dean had dedicated his life to keeping his little brother and Zoe safe. He loved the two of them with a fierceness that not even all the torturing in Hell could take from him. As his forest green eyes fell on his travelling companions he realised just how haggard they all must have looked. Zoe looked gaunt, her cheek bones visible and her eyes sunken and Sam looked much like someone who had been dragged backwards across a pit of glass. They were wounded, dirty, exhausted and in dire need of sleep. Seeing the two looking back at him he knew, he knew he needed to give them the break they so deserved. Yes they needed to get to Washington, but staying here, in the safety of a sheltered building instead of a few miles down the road in the open wasn't going to make much of a difference to their journey.

The older of the three turned to face them, "I'm sure we can spare a few minutes to help get these people set up don't you?"

Sam nodded, he had wanted to stay regardless so for his brother to agree simply meant he didn't have to try to convince him it was a good idea. Zoe on the other hand was sceptical. Dean was always hell bent on sticking to his decisions even if they were blatantly wrong or potentially dangerous. He never changed his mind, especially not that quickly either, that was something Sam also knew all too well, but for once he just didn't have the energy to fight his brother or question him.

"Thank you, we're going to get moving pretty soon, you can leave your things here if you want, no one will touch them," Rick said with a nod then turned and walked over to where his son was sitting. Zoe grabbed Dean by the arm and dragged him outside whilst Sam went over to join the new group and get himself acquainted with everyone.

"Why do you all of a sudden feel so strongly about helping these people?" her voice was low, but her eyes ablaze with confusion.

He lifted a shoulder absently, "I figure we should help people where we can I guess."

"You said ten seconds ago that we needed to keep moving Dean. I know you, you don't change your mind like that unless there's a reason. A _good _reason."

Dean ran his hand through his dirt encrusted hair and sighed, "You guys need a break and I can see it in both of you. Plus I guess staying here is a safer option than a few miles down the road strapped into a tree like we have been doing."

Zoe's eyes narrowed a little, "I don't believe you."

"Then don't believe me."

"Dean."

He shifted again uncomfortably, he hated how well both Zoe and Sam knew him. It went both ways though, he knew how they were feeling and even what they were thinking by the simple looks on their faces. They were the precious few people left in this world that knew him better than he ever knew himself, they were all he had and had been since before this mess had taken hold. How could he possibly keep secrets from them?

He sucked in a deep breath and stared down at his horrifically scuffed boots.

"Talk to me Dean," she pressed.

"I know we always use Washington as an excuse to get away from people. I know that, I also know we are working on a sort of dead line. I get that, but," he looked up, his green eyes deeper and darker than Zoe had ever seen them. A look that shook her right to her very core. It was almost like for a split second, she got to see right into the very middle of his soul, all of his fears and hopes and everything laid out on the table for dissecting. He hadn't looked at her like that for years, in fact, remembering the last time he had looked at her in such a way nearly reduced her to tears. It had been just before he had been dragged into Hell by the hounds. It was a look of absolute pure, raw fear and utter hopelessness.

"But?" her voice was barely audible.

"But I know what happens when we get you there. I know what we have to give up," he shook his head and focused back on the floor, "I know what this will mean for Sammy and me, and I'm telling you right now. We aren't ready for that. No way."

Zoe wrapped her arms across her chest, her blue eyes wide as stared at the floor. Washington held all kinds of uncertainty and apprehension for all of them, she just hadn't been thinking of it though. If she were to be honest with herself, she was doing everything in her power to avoid thinking of it.

"I can't lose you guys," he shook his head and raised his eyes to meet hers, a thin film threatening the edges of his fearsome stare. "I _won_'_t _lose you guys."

Before Zoe had a chance to respond Sam was leaning around the corner telling them that they were ready to go, and just like that, like every time before, life got in the way all over again.


	3. Death Sentence

Authors note: it's been a really long time, so you will have to bear with me, I'm just getting back into this. I'm also currently working on my own novel to be sent to publishing so it may be a little while between updates. My promise is I will try and be frequent though.

Thanks to everyone who has commented, followed and added to their favourites. I can't tell you how grateful I am.

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 3**

Dean and Sam had fallen behind the group as they followed the Priest into the town. Zoe was trudging along a little way ahead of the Winchesters, her eyes firmly planted in front of her.

"So, what did you do before all of this started?" Carol's voice cut through the silence and almost went straight through Zoe's ears.

"What did I do?" Zoe looked up to see the older woman had fallen into step beside her.

"Yeah, for work," Carol said kicking a stone along the ground.

Zoe glanced over her shoulder at the brothers, both of them were engrossed in whispered conversation. Part of her wanted to be back there with them but she knew full well that they were staying back for a reason.

"Killing people, hunting things. Pretty much exactly what I'm doing now, with less dead people," she replied with a shrug.

Carol looked her up and down before realising the girl wasn't kidding and with a nod she edged away from her and continued on next to Daryl.

She hadn't always been that way around people, it had only been in the last few years that it had started. Demon hunting can do that to a person. Hell did worse things though. The three of them had to carry with them the scars from a lifetime worth of fighting, they spent every waking second with the memories of all those people they couldn't save. Worse still they spent their days with the memories of those people they did save, and the knowledge that it was almost all for nothing. Dean and Sam would never admit it, but they struggled for the first few months knowing that their work had been in vein, that all the demons they had exorcised, all the ghosts they had destroyed, all the bones they had burned and all the lives they had changed was just so the world could be thrown into absolute chaos. She glanced over her shoulder at the two brothers. They walked the same she noted, the same tall, effortless stride that came with knowing exactly who they were and what they were doing. They were hunters so they were quiet, forever listening to the world around them, seeing things most people missed. Zoe's eyes trailed over the rest of the group, her eyes eventually falling on Daryl, and with a jolt of intrigue she saw that he moved in much the same way. Something in the set of his jaw and the determination in his eyes made Zoe do a double take. He was almost exactly like the Winchester boys, the way he held himself, the way he never really seemed comfortable and was always on edge. It was almost as if he had been there experiencing the same things they had. Seeing a malicious spirit, being possessed by a demon or having any encounter with the supernatural changed a person, and something in the depths of Daryl's hard blue eyes made Zoe think there was something he was hiding.

As they came in to the town Rick told Daryl and Carol to get as much water as they could carry from the rain water tanks and wells down the road and take it back to camp whilst the rest of them looked for food and any supplies they could find. Even though the Priest, Gabriel as the trio had learned, had said he had cleared everything out, Rick still didn't trust him and wanted the place checked over before they left. Dean, Sam and Zoe were about to go through one of the other stores when Rick called them back.

"I want Dean and Zoe to stay with us, Sam, go with Daryl and Carol and check through the buildings as you go then get water and we will meet you back at the church," Zoe and Sam both looked to Dean, his face dark.

"No," he stepped towards Rick, "I'll go with those two, Sam and Zoe will stay with you."

"Dean, it's fine," Sam started only to be cut off by his brother.

"No way Sammy, you're not going off by yourself with these guys, you stay with Zoe and make sure nothing happens you hear me?"

Something in his tone told everyone that he was not to be questioned, and it was for that reason that Rick simply gave Daryl a nod before signalling for everyone to follow him into the shop.

"C'mon," Daryl mumbled nodding his head towards the road leading out of town, "we better get moving."

Zoe turned to make a comment to Dean but he had already gone, trudging beside Carol quietly, his shoulders set and his head up.

"Stay with me," Sam draped his arm across Zoe's shoulders and the two headed into the building after the others.

The second they walked through the doors Sam's arm dropped away from Zoe's shoulders, his eyebrows narrowing. Zoe could smell it too, instantly. Sulphur.

"You smell that?" Zoe looked up at Sam briefly, his face speaking more words than he ever needed to.

"Let's just get in and out of here as fast as we can okay," he said in a hushed tone, his eyes falling on the group crouched down in front of a gaping hole in the floor.

"Water's been coming down that hole a while," everyone was staring down into the hole filled with walkers sloshing back and forth pointlessly.

Sam gave Zoe a look and before she had a chance to stop him he was already talking, "water hasn't been coming down here a while. It's a trap."

Rick's eyes met Sam's, "don't be ridiculous. This place is dilapidated beyond repair, its weather damage. Nothing else."

Sam seemed to bristle at the blatant disregard of his comment, but before it could go any further the group was already plotting to plunge into the water and retrieve whatever they could find. One after the other the jumped down into the water pulling the shelving back against them as a type of barrier against the horrifically bloated and decayed zombies reaching out for them. Zoe on the other hand stayed on higher ground, she figured not only was her presence down there not needed but would also make this more difficult to manoeuvre around if need be. She glanced around at the empty space surrounding her, benches and shelving overturned in an effort to get as many useful supplies as possible.

The world was a wreck and this tiny town was no different, even photo frames had been smashed and tell-tale signs of blood on the shards of glass glinted in the thin streams of sunlight. She bent down to retrieve a photo frame off the floor, an image of a woman and young child standing in front of the shop some years ago. Zoe could see it by the woman's clothes and the state of the building that it would have been back when the shop first opened. She was investigating the woman's pale face and bright orange hair when a searing pain shot through her chest, her hand digging into the frame forcing tiny slivers of glass to pierce her skin.

_I knew I'd find you eventually, _a voice hissed inside her temples, _couldn't resist that precious little photo could you?_

Her blue eyes went down to the blood stained edges of the frame as the photograph within started to bubble, a horrific image of a man about the same age as Zoe appearing in its place, his eyes a startling shade of blood red.

She tried to let go of the frame but her hands seemed to be working completely independently of her body, "Let me go."

_Unlikely, _the voice replied, _I want to know what it is you're doing all the way over in Atlanta. You owe me that much._

Her knees buckled and she hit the rubble covered floor with a thud, "I don't owe you anything you sick fr…"

She was cut short, the pain in her chest growing as if someone were squeezing her heart, she let out a groan of pain, her eyes closing as she desperately tried to drop the frame.

_I know you and those little Winchester brothers have put wards up. I know they used angel magic to keep you from me, but it won't work. Blood bonds are much, much stronger than magic. _

Every time she twisted her hands around the frame the shards dug deeper into her skin and more blood pooled around her.

_The second your blood hit that glass I knew where you were. Granted it won't last, and I can only track you as long as you are holding that frame but that doesn't mean anything. I will hunt you, I will find out who you're travelling with and believe you me, little sister, I will kill you._

White hot tears had flooded her vision and just as she was starting to feel like she couldn't get another breath in two strong hands were over hers, the photo frame being painfully yanked from her hands as she fell forwards onto the floor, coughing and taking enormous gulps of air.

"What the hell were you doin?" she looked up from the ground, her eyes met with shimmering blue ones as she tried desperately to compose herself. Her head fell forwards once more, her eyes focusing on scuffed, blood stained brown boots and a crossbow lying in front of her.

"What're you doing here? I thought you went for water," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

"I did," Daryl squatted down in front of her, his hands clasping around the crossbow, "but I remembered seeing a big tub here and figured we could use that to get water so I came back to get it."

Zoe managed to sit back, her eyes still blurred by tears as she took in his grime coated face, "how'd you know I was in trouble."

He adjusted the crossbow in front of him, an awkwardness taking over his usually powerful frame, "I've seen my fair share of weird stuff to know that someone kneelin on the floor bleedin over a frame ain't normal."

She wiped her eyes on the back of her sleeve, her pale blue eyes meeting his electric ones and for a moment she could have sworn she saw something familiar behind those irises. There was something about his tone, the way he had spoken to her that sparked a curiosity within her.

"Thank you," she whispered, finally managing to tear her eyes away from his.

She was about to say something else when Sam's voice echoed out from inside the hole, her eyes automatically going over to the broken floorboards.

"Zoe, we need some help, we've got a lot of stuff down here," as she turned to look at Daryl though, he was already gone, half jogging by the window to catch up with Carol and Dean. Zoe looked back down at her blood soaked hands, the wounds already healing over and only thin white lines showing where the glass had dug into her skin. They were in way over their heads, they knew that already, that was why the three of them never stayed around people too long. It meant they were vulnerable, exposed, and as Zoe edged her way towards the broken in floorboards she wondered if maybe this time was different. Maybe this time she had sentenced everyone to death already.


	4. You can't hide forever

Authors note: it's been a really long time, so you will have to bear with me, I'm just getting back into this. I'm also currently working on my own novel to be sent to publishing so it may be a little while between updates. My promise is I will try and be frequent though.

Also this doesn't quite marry up with the timeline on the show so if it deviates a lot then forgive me, it's an alternative scenario

Thanks to everyone who has commented, followed and added to their favourites. I can't tell you how grateful I am.

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 4**

Everyone was scattered around the church digging in to assorted cans of food and drinks. Rick seemed to be relatively happy to let everyone be for the time being. Dean had agreed to stay the night and hadn't received much of argument from the other two. Zoe sat by the front door of the church, her back pressed against the cool wall as she watched the rest of the group chattering away animatedly.

"How's your hands?" Daryl's voice was gentle, his face half covered by shadow as he came to join her on the edge of the candle light, his hands resting on his bent up knees.

"Much better," she purposefully slid them underneath her crossed legs, she didn't want to answer his question as to why she didn't have any marks or wounds, "thank you for helping me."

He let his head fall back and rest against the wall, "don't mention it."

Zoe took a moment to study him, the tired lines showing on his skin, the weathered dark circles underneath his guarded blue eyes. She couldn't help but glance down to his tattered clothes, the exposed, taut flesh across his biceps, the dirt that shaded his bare arms and gave him a real gritty, dirty sort of look. Somewhere between the blood splatters on his boots and the neat scrawled tattoo on his arm Zoe seemed to trigger a very hazy memory she had since forgotten.  
>"Do I," she paused, her eyes searching the man's face, "do I know you from somewhere?"<p>

His eyebrow raised slightly, an incredulous look on his heavy features, "no."

Zoe adjusted herself where she sat, her eyes trailing back to the rest of the group.

"When you said you'd seen your fair share of weird stuff, what did you mean?"

Daryl's eyebrows narrowed a little, he hadn't shared his experiences from his life with anyone. Merle had been with him for some of the things he had seen but even then his older brother passed them off as being nothing more than drunken encounters.

"Nothing," he replied with a shrug, though the look on Zoe's face told him she didn't believe him.

There was something in the way Zoe moved that had sparked Daryl's intrigue to start with. She had a fierceness in her eyes despite the exhaustion that was written all over her body. Something about the way she was with the two brothers made him curious as well. Family had never really been something Daryl knew, Merle and he had a strained relationship; the only thing they had ever shared was alcohol. Even then it was more of a fight to get to the booze first.

"What weird stuff have you seen?"

Enormous ocean blue eyes met his in the dark, Zoe's expression unreadable but her body tensing in a way that piqued Daryl's curiosity and interest.

"A lot more than she should have," Dean was sitting on one of the pews in front of them, his eyes glancing between them both before settling on Zoe. The young girl glanced down at the half finished can at her feet before looking up from under her eyelashes at Dean.

"Nothing more than I can handle though."

A fleeting smile broke over Dean's stern features as he relaxed back into the uncomfortable wooden bench, "that is true."

Daryl was about to say something when he noticed Carol missing from the group, his eyes darting around the room manically before he stood up abruptly, mumbled a quick 'sorry' and then left. Dean leaned forwards, his elbows resting on his knees.

"You didn't eat much," he noted, looking at her half-finished can.

The young girl shook her head, her eyes matching the eldest Winchester's before letting her head fall back against the wall. Dean let his breath seep out between his teeth before running a hand absently through his hair; something was weighing him down, something that he didn't seem willing to share.

Before either of them could address the awkward pause though Sam was already taking a seat next to Zoe, his hazel eyes filled with the sadly familiar puppy dog type sadness.

"What happens after we get you to DC?" Zoe rolled her head to the side and studied her friend for a moment.

"Is this what's been bothering you guys?" she glanced up to Dean as he dug his fingers into the back of his neck and let his head hang forwards. Sam simply gave her a half-hearted shrug and leaned his head back to rest against the wall.

"Zoe, we've been through a lot together, hell, blood thirsty monsters, apocalypses and all kinds of supernatural bullshit," Dean raised his head, eyes meeting his brothers before falling on Zoe, "so be honest with us. What happens after DC, after you do whatever it is you need to do?"

Two pairs of heavy eyes fell on Zoe, looks so full of emotion that for a split second she didn't want to tell them didn't want to be the one that destroyed everything they were clinging to.

"Everything resets," she sat forwards her elbows resting on her knees; "people get to start over."

"Start over?" Sam's voice was strained, "what do you mean?"

The reality of it was Zoe didn't quite know how it worked after DC. She knew she had to put an end to everything but from that point on she didn't know what was meant to happen. Not that it mattered much to her, she wasn't going to be there to see the aftermath.

Her blue eyes met Sam's in the half light, a thin watery film blurring her vision, "it means you get the chance to live. It means that for all those times you saved me, for all the trips to Hell and back, for everything that has happened to us, you guys get the chance to keep going. Keep saving people. Keep…"

The words seemed to get caught in the back of her throat, a horrific searing pain surging up through her arm and exploding into her chest.

"Zoe?" Sam turned to face the woman beside him just as she clenched her arm to her stomach and fell forwards, her forehead resting against the floor.

"Zoe!" She was vaguely aware of Dean's arms on her shoulders but for the life of her she couldn't manage to do anything other than writhe in pain. Her eyes squeezed closed as she tried desperately to breathe through the searing in her arm.

"What the Hell is happening?" Sam hissed at his brother, his hands feebly pulling her hair back from her face and tears streamed down her pale cheeks.

Just as quickly as it had started the pain seemed to subside, the aching going from excruciating to bearable. Slowly, she lifted her head from the ground, red spots dotting her vision and her skin shimmering with a mixture of sweat and tears. Dean lifted her chin softly, his hands wiping the stray strands of hair from her face as he carefully checked her for any injuries.

"Dean," Sam's voice was soft, yet both Zoe and Dean had heard that tone enough to note that it was laced with concern and utter panic. Dean's green eyes followed his brother's gaze down to Zoe's slender forearm, a stream of blood trickling down across her wrist and into her hand.

"What the…" he carefully took hold of her hand and despite her wincing straightened out her bent elbow so he could see where the blood was streaming from. Clear as day, scrawled across her skin, as if an amateur had carved into it with a blunt knife were the words, 'you can't hide forever.' Dean's eyes met Sam's an unspoken look of dread passing between them.

"Zoe," Sam ducked his head slightly so he his eyes met hers dead on, her face a horrible shade of grey, "what aren't you telling us?"


	5. Explain

Authors note: it's been a really long time, so you will have to bear with me, I'm just getting back into this. I'm also currently working on my own novel to be sent to publishing so it may be a little while between updates. My promise is I will try and be frequent though.

Also this doesn't quite marry up with the timeline on the show so if it deviates a lot then forgive me, it's an alternative scenario

Thanks to everyone who has commented, followed and added to their favourites. I can't tell you how grateful I am.

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 5**

Zoe's glassy blue eyes met Sam's dead on, her expression even, unwavering, her voice a hoarse whisper, "it's a blood bond."

"A what?" Dean hissed.

"A blood bond, it means whatever happens to," she couldn't look at either of them directly, "my brother, happens to me."

"Brother?" Sam's voice was incredulous, his eyes wide, "you have a brother?"

"Come on Sammy you know this," Dean sighed.

The look his little brother shot him made him do a double take though, Sam appeared as if someone had just told him he only had three days to live.

Zoe looked to Sam, her blue eyes pensive as she spoke, "Sammy, do you know what I am?"

He glance towards his older brother, feeling very much like everyone was judging him before looking back at Zoe and shaking his head, "I've obviously missed something incredibly important here, so enlighten me."

Dean sat back on his haunches, his hand running through his hair before falling onto his knees. John had hidden a lot of things from Sam and Dean could understand why, on some level, he had felt the need to. For the most part though Dean had disagreed with the way their Dad had conducted varying aspects of their lives but he had never been able to say anything about it. For the better part of their years together though Dean had always been as honest as he could with Sam, though there were times when that proved to be far more taxing than it should have been. This was one of them.

"Zoe has a twin," Dean began, though couldn't seem to get the rest of his sentence out.

"'Two children born of Heaven and Hell, brought together by the converted. Raised on Earth to be human, but doomed to choose the fate of those that remain,'" the words sounded as though Zoe was reciting some sort of Biblical passage, though Sam knew there was nothing in the Bible that mentioned children born of the converted or having to choose people's fate.

"Converted? What are you talking about?" Sam shook his head and sat back, his arms folded across his chest.

"My brother, Tobias, and I were born to an atheist woman. She had been trying to get pregnant for some time but nothing worked. IVF treatments, natural conception, everything. Her husband left her for another woman after five years of trying to conceive," Zoe let out a ragged breath, "then about three years after she gave up she had a car accident, a massive one, lacerations, broken bones, organ damage, the works. Somewhere between her having the accident and being in the hospital on life support, we were implanted. No medical practitioner could explain it. It was a miracle as far as they were concerned. Of course Heaven and Hell didn't pay much mind to what medical practitioners said. We were their spawn, and that was all that mattered."

The rest of the church had fallen completely silent, all eyes on the three at the back of the room.

"What're you saying, your some kind of angel or something?" Abraham's words cut through the space like a knife.

Zoe glanced up, the group's faces illuminated by the dim flickering lights of the candles, "no, I'm not an angel. I'm what you would call Nephilim, half angel, half human. My brother is a Cambion, half human, half demon."

"You're kidding me right?" Glenn stepped forwards, his eyes shimmering in the yellow haze, "you're not seriously trying to tell us that angels and demons exist?"

"Of course they do, they are God's creation, he is watching over us and has sent these angels to help us," Gabriel stepped in.

"No," Dean rose to his feet, "there is no God anymore; he's gone. He hasn't been here for quite some time in fact."

The Priest looked like someone had just slapped him in the face, "no, he can't be. He's been answering my prayers…"

"Look around you man!" Dean's voice echoed around them, "Your prayers haven't been answered, you've just been lucky, or so pathetic you were too scared to make a move and never had the chance to be hurt. He's not protecting you at all, you just haven't woken up to that yet. You're on your own here. Your so called God is MIA."

"All you've done is created a safety pocket in the middle of Hell," Abraham added his gaze stern.

"Wrong," Sam pushed himself up to stand by his brother, helping Zoe to her feet as he went, "Hell is nothing like this place. This is a goddamn funfair in comparison."

All eyes fell on the three of them as they walked into the light and closed the gap between the two groups. It was Maggie that spoke first though.

"Are you tryin to say that, that," she paused trying to work out how to say what she wanted, "that Hell actually exists? That you've been there or something?"

The three exchanged a harrowed look, none of them wanted to talk about their time in Hell, it wasn't exactly something they rejoiced in remembering.

"All you people need to know is that there are things out there that are much worse than zombies," Zoe said holding Maggie's gaze. The woman stepped back a little, her hand lacing with Glenn's at her side.

"Enough. I want straight answers," Rick hissed, his body tensing as he spoke, "I want to know exactly what it is you people do, who you are, why you're here and why the Hell we shouldn't just throw your asses out to the walkers right now?"

Dean's shoulders rolled back, his body almost inflating as he squared himself off against the group's front man, "we're the ones that hunt the monsters even your worst nightmares couldn't conjure up. We stop those blood thirsty fuckers that would bleed you dry in a second. You think walkers are bad? You haven't seen anything yet. We do more for you people than you will ever realise. That's what we do. We are family, a family of hunters with a very specific skill set, that's who we are. We're here by chance and believe me, we don't want to be here any longer than we absolutely have to be. The answer to the last question is up to you, throw us out if you want I don't give a rat's ass, it'll be your lives you waste in the end."

Dean turned back to face Zoe, his eyes ablaze behind the heavy shadow on his face, "you and I are going to talk about this later."

Before Zoe could respond though Sasha was interrupting them, "Wait, where's Bob?"

Everyone glance around the room at the same moment. The Winchester's had seen Daryl take off outside after Carol, but they hadn't seen Bob take his leave.

"Daryl and Carol aren't here either," Carl added, a sleeping Judith cradled against his chest.

In that moment as Dean turned to face the group dead on his green eyes met Rick's in the golden glow of the room. There was a shared ferocity in them that hadn't been only moments before, an unspoken sort of understanding passing between the two of them as they both rounded on the Father together.

"Where are our people?" Rick hissed as Dean slowly unsheathed Ruby's knife from his belt.

"I don't…" Gabriel stammered, "I don't know."

"Wrong answer."


	6. Something's wrong

Authors note: it's been a really long time, so you will have to bear with me, I'm just getting back into this. I'm also currently working on my own novel to be sent to publishing so it may be a little while between updates. My promise is I will try and be frequent though.

Also this doesn't quite marry up with the timeline on the show so if it deviates a lot then forgive me, it's an alternative scenario

Thanks to everyone who has commented, followed and added to their favourites. I can't tell you how grateful I am.

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 6**

Even though Dean had been scarily persuasive with Ruby's knife it didn't seem to have had quite the desired effect on Gabriel. It turned out he wasn't a demon, he was just a coward. The group had listened intently as he had explained about always locking the doors at night and how that had ultimately lead to his congregation's demise. When he started talking about hearing their screams at night and damning him to Hell, the Winchester brothers had taken their leave, along with Zoe, stepping outside into the cool night air.

"We leave tomorrow, clear?" Dean exclaimed, rounding on his counterparts. They both nodded in agreement, they didn't want to stay there longer than was required. Sam and Dean set to planning their route, pulling out an incredibly flimsy map while Zoe wandered out into the open space around the church. What she hadn't anticipated was finding the mutilated body of Bob lying on the ground unconscious.

"Dean! Sam!" She spun around, not quite realising how loud she had yelled. Two seconds later Sasha and Michonne came barrelling out of the church, Sasha's eyes falling on the body at Zoe's feet.

"Bob! Bob?" She shoved Zoe aside grabbing his arm and draping it over shoulder, "help me get him inside."

The two girls carried him inside, Sasha's face pale as they manoeuvred their way into the Father's office and lay Bob on the couch. Dean's hand fell on Zoe's arm as she made to follow the group inside, stopping her where she stood.

"Something isn't right here Zo, tell me you feel it too," his voice was low as Sam jogged up the stairs and disappeared into the darkness within.

Zoe looked back to Dean, "Sam doesn't agree does he?"

Dean looked down at the ground, a thinly veiled pain behind his green eyes, "Sam doesn't know what to trust anymore because of the so called 'secrets' we kept from him."

"Secrets? As in what I am and having a brother and stuff?"

He nodded slightly, green irises rising to meet her shadowed blue ones.

"That's not fair, it wasn't our choice to hide stuff from him Dean," Zoe retorted, a flicker of impulsive anger flashing across her features, "we haven't done anything wrong."

"I know, but Sam doesn't see it that way."

Zoe wasn't listening though, "It was your self-righteous father that stopped us from telling him. His goddamn ridiculous rules and expectations were the reason Sammy never knew. Not us. If he wants to blame anyone he should be blaming that self-absorb, self-righteous …"

"Enough," Dean barked, his voice sharp like a twig snapping in the silence of the woods.

Zoe swallowed the rest of her words and met Dean's glare.

"Our Dad may have been a jerk but he did what he thought was best. He always had us in mind no matter what. No matter how dangerous or unsafe it was, it was always for us. He gave his life for me and Sammy," Dean's voice broke his shoulders slumping slightly as he ran a hand across his forehead.

Zoe knew full well the extent to which John Winchester had gone for his sons. She knew that Dean blamed himself every day for being the reason that Sam didn't have a father. It was for that reason that Dean had taken his Dad's request to look after his little brother as far as he had. He'd gone to Hell for Sam, and if he were asked to do it again, he wouldn't bat an eyelid. Sam was the only family that Dean had left and the loyalty and love he had for his brother went deeper than anyone could ever begin to understand.

"You're right," Zoe nodded slightly, "I'm sorry. Your Dad was a good man. I owe my life to him, and to you guys."

Dean nodded, his eyes still downcast, not quite ready to speak to Zoe yet.

"I also agree with you," she pressed on, "something doesn't feel right here. It seems off."

The older Winchester was about to respond when raised voices echoed out from the church. The two shared a quick glance before launching up the stairs and into the building.

"It's not your call," Glenn was staring at Rick, a determination in his stance that reminded Zoe instantly of Kevin, a painful twang washing over her as she came to a stop near Sam in the corner.

"What's happening?"

Sam gave her a sideways glance, annoyance in his look, "Turns out Bob's leg was eaten by the idiots from Terminus. These guys want revenge but Abraham wants to take the bus and leave now. So they've come to an agreement, he'll stay and help fight these terminus idiots and leave tomorrow instead. But his condition is that when he leaves he takes Glenn and Maggie with him on the bus to Washington. Rick is trying get them to rethink it because he thinks he can protect them by lying about the reality of the whole situation."

Dean rolled his eyes at his brother and shook his head, stalking off to see what the damage was with the rest of the group.

"That wasn't necessary," Zoe said with a sigh.

"Yeah it was," Sam rounded on her, "you _both_ have done nothing but lie to me, not just about this but about so many things and I've had enough of it. It's completely uncalled for and you know it, yet you both keep doing it, don't you?"

Without waiting for her response he stalked off down the aisle towards the rest of the group huddled in the corner discussing their plan. Zoe stood for a few seconds longer before dropping her head back and letting out a slow breath before following Sam.

Less than an hour later the group were geared up and ready to leave, Sam had opted to stay at the church with the group much to Dean's disgust, whilst Zoe and Dean went with the rest of them into the woods. Zoe had stayed crouched in the surrounding shrubs whilst the others went off up the track, her hand clasped around Ruby's knife as she stayed low against the cold ground. It didn't take long before the Terminus group were walking up the steps and charging into the church, Zoe rising to her feet slowly before darting off into the darkness to get the others.

Sam stood with his back to the wall next to the door, his ears pricked as he strained to hear the movement in the other room. He was vaguely aware of the group shuffling around behind him, for the most part they were trying desperately not to breathe loudly, even Judith had managed to keep her cool and not make a noise. This was the part he hated most, whether it were hunting or just general recon, he hated the waiting around for something to happen. When the gun shots echoed in the church beyond though his hand instinctively tightened around the handle of his gun. Judith had already given away their position so no matter what they tried at that point they were as good as uncovered.

Dean took out the first one of the group, dropping him almost instantly as the others took down the closest members of the Terminus crew they could get to. Zoe and Dean hung back as Rick stepped towards where they had cornered the intruders.

"Put your guns on the floor," Rick's voice was gravelly against the darkness.

"We'll fire right into that office," Gareth spat back, his eyes wild and full of contempt, "so you lower your weapons..."

Neither Zoe, Dean nor Rick flinched as the silenced gunshot thumped out, a spray of blood erupting from Gareth's hand, his eyes going wide as the pain registered in the back of his head. He toppled forwards onto his knees, clutching at the stumps where his fingers once were, blood free flowing onto the floor at his knees. Dean's eyes caught Zoe in the darkness, a rising sense of pride seeping through his veins as he watched her shoulders rising and falling with every breath she took. Her hand was steady on the end of Ruby's knife, her eyes forward, and body rigid as she watched the exchange between Gareth and Rick. It was one of the many things Dean loved about her, even when everything was falling apart she stood strong, unwavering.

"We can walk away, and we will never cross paths again. I promise you," Zoe's eye twitched at the conviction in the man's voice.

Rick didn't even seem to ponder it for the slightest of seconds, "but you'll cross someone's path. You'd do this to anyone right?"

The ex-cop's eyes were ablaze, a look Dean knew all too well, a mixtures of sheer rage and the slightest hint of pleasure, "Besides, I already made you a promise."

Everything from there happened in a flash, Dean lunged forwards, plugging bullets into the nearest intruder he could. Zoe spun to her right her blade slamming into the middle of one of the Terminus crews hearts, he flickered a golden colour, as she had expected, before collapsing to the floor in a heap. Demons. They had known something was wrong. She looked up just in time to see the last of the swirling black cloud explode from Gareth's mouth just as Rick's red handled blade sliced into the man's flesh. Zoe turned to face the back of the church, no matter how many times she watched people get killed it still didn't make things easier. She hated the sound of flesh being chopped unceremoniously, the stench of death and fear in a putrid cloud, there was nothing good about that moment at all. When the eerie silence took over the entire church the Father staggered out from his hiding spot, the rest of the group following quietly taking in the remnants of the havoc around them.

"This is the Lord's house," Gabriel exclaimed shakily. All eyes turned to him as he looked down at the massacred body at his feet, droplets of blood and brain sprayed across the usually pristine floor.

"No," Maggie straightened herself up, her eyes hard, "it's just four walls and a roof."

Zoe was standing on the back veranda of the church after everyone had departed, her eyes watching the woods as Michonne carefully edged her way closer to the tree line and the source of the rustling beyond. Zoe's hand tightened around the knife at her side, her blue eyes hard as Michonne stopped where she was, hand poised for her sword. Before she had a chance to unsheathe it though Daryl was standing in the shrubs, his breathing heavy and his eyes exhausted.

"Where's Carol?" Michonne asked instantly, her eyes searching the area behind him quickly.

Daryl glanced up to where Zoe stood on the veranda, giving her a strange look as he called over his shoulder, "come on out."

Zoe's eyes went wide, her throat practically closing as her lips fell open slightly and her hand white knuckling the handle of Ruby's knife. She was caught so off guard that she hadn't even heard Dean come around the corner of the church, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Hello darlings, tell me…" the man paused, a devilish, bone chilling grin spreading over his face, "where's Moose?"


	7. Old Acquaintances

Authors note: Thanks to everyone who has followed and added this bad boy to their favourites. It's truly encouraging. Please comment as well if you can, it always keeps me motivated and adds that little push to do a new chapter as well. (massive thanks to SaiyukiLover232 for all the comments!)

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 7**

By the time Zoe's foot had hit the ground Dean was already standing in front of her protectively, his eyes never once leaving Crowley.

"Come on now Squirrel," Crowley scoffed, "I wouldn't want your angel reject any more than I would want to lick horse poo off the bottom of my shoe."

"Why are you here Crowley?" Dean barked.

"Hitched a ride with the little pit-bull here," he inclined his head toward Daryl who shot him a glare over his shoulder, "had a nice little chat actually."

"Why are you here?" Dean's voice rose, his question more deliberate.

"I'm here to give you a little proposition," the demon said with a smug look, "I'm willing to lay down arms and help you if you are willing to help me. Ah Moose, there you are."

Dean looked over to see his little brother come to stand beside him in front of Zoe, his eyes wild with shock and anger.

"What are you doing here?" Sam growled in way of a greeting.

"Oh you Winchester's, no manners," Crowley shook his head a little and took a step forwards further into the clearing. Dean unsheathed his knife from his belt as he stepped forwards to match the demons movement.

"Just stay where you are scumbag," Dean hissed.

"What is goin' on out here?" Rick appeared at the top of the steps his eyes falling to Daryl, "where's Carol?"

Daryl took a breath and shook his head slightly, his entire body sagging at the mention of Carol's name, "I don't know."

Rick watched him for a second before nodding and holding the door to the church open, "how about everyone comes inside and we talk about this further."

"Gladly," Crowley gave the three a shit eating grin.

Dean's indignant green eyes met Crowley's across the opening, "come on then jackass, come right into the Lord's house, onto hallowed ground, we'll have a nice long chat."

Crowley's lip twitched up into a thin smirk, the sarcasm in the oldest Winchester's voice clearly trying to bait him. He sauntered forwards stopping directly in front of the brother's a shimmer of amusement in his eyes.

"It's not hallowed ground anymore Squirrel," he stepped passed them, up the stairs and over the threshold of the church calling over his shoulder, "it's just four walls and a roof."

A chill ran through Zoe as Crowley repeated Maggie's words from earlier, her face going ghostly white as the two boys turned to face her.

"Stay here," Dean handed her the knife and nodded to Sam, "we'll sort this out and be back in a second."

She watched as the two brother's ducked up the stairs after Crowley, disappearing inside leaving her standing in the surprisingly cool Georgia breeze.

"He told me what y'are y'know," she glanced up to see Daryl looking down at her, "about the angel blood and stuff."

Zoe held his gaze for a long moment desperately trying to read what was in his hooded blue eyes, "Did he tell you what _he_ is?"

Daryl adjusted his crossbow on his back and shrugged a little, his back cracking softly under his clothes, "he told me he's done some pretty terrible things, but in spite of all of that he can help us."

Zoe shook her head slightly, her eyes going to the ground as she sucked in a deep breath, "of course he did."

"Don't you wanna get out of this Hell?" Daryl asked softly.

"This isn't Hell," she whispered, "this is just a crappy situation that can't be fixed. Hell is worse than this."

"And you know of Hell do you?" the man's voice held a bitterness to it that snapped Zoe's head up to meet his gaze.

"Yeah, I do. Better than anyone else, and probably better than I should," she remarked blue eyes ablaze.

He watched her for a moment, something in his eyes that almost looked like he was having an internal struggle before finally saying, "You ain't the only one that has a crappy past y'know."

"This isn't about having a crappy past. This is so much more than parents that didn't love you, or copping the wrong side of an argument, or having to lie about falling down the stairs," she replied, her hands trembling slightly. Though she seemed to have completely missed the sincerity in his tone.

"I wasn't saying…"

She cut him off, stepping forwards as she spoke, "this is about a very literal Hell, this is about losing absolutely every single thing that you ever loved. About dedicating a life time to something that you can never ever win against. It's about the inevitable death that follows you around, that stalks you no matter where you go. Hell isn't some hungry dead corpse shambling after you when you walk down the street, or not knowing if you'll have a bed to sleep in. Hell is a horrible place, a horrific manifestation of everything that you dread," tears were welling behind her eyes as she spoke, her voice trembling with anger and fear and pent up emotions she hadn't had the chance, or the courage, to feel.

"It rips you apart, tears at everything you ever loved until you're totally raw, crawling along a bed of shattered glass to try and hold on to the last shred of hope you have. Then those sick freaks put you back together, and the mental torture starts, they make you watch your loved ones die, turn you into the demon that killed them. They rip you apart until you finally cave and become the very thing that you swore you never would. Then you get off that rack and get to inflict that same terror on some other poor undeserving soul, and if you're really lucky it'll be on someone you loved once upon a time," her eyes shone wild as Daryl watched her intently her words pressing against his chest like a lead weight.

"And that guy in there, that sick, twisted, ghoulish freak that you willingly let into your group, is the mastermind behind it all. He's the sadistic overlord that comes up with new ways of torturing people, new ways of making you wish you could feel anything else, die all over again just to be away from it, and you just let him walk right in here."

The two of them were standing so close together at that point that with every inhale Zoe's chest nearly touched against Daryl's her eyes even as she stared up at him. For some reason in that moment, seeing the fire blazing behind her eyelids, the determination in her stance made him want to lean down and press his lips to hers, breathe in her scent, taste the sweetness of her tongue against his. As if breaking out of some sort of trans Zoe sucked in a sharp breath and stepped back, her eyes going back to the tip of the blade in her hand, a haziness floating across her vision as she turned and walked back over to the steps. Daryl took a deep breath, as if he were sucking in air for the first time, his skin burning with a strange heat, and headed inside, pushing passed Zoe and half running up into the church. The further away from her the better, whatever it was that overcame him was nothing more than a knee jerk reaction, he tried to convince himself, the girl was pretty and that was all he was reacting to. He paused in the doorway turning to look at her over his shoulder for a moment before almost physically shaking off the unsettling feeling in his stomach and joining the rest of the group.

Zoe sank down onto the bottom step trying to regain a little composure before she had to speak with anyone. Her hands kept turning Ruby's knife over and over, the cool metal of the blade grounding her a little, though her thoughts were still back on the time she spent in Hell. Seeing Crowley again had dredged up memories she had managed to suppress for a long time. The memories of the debilitating pain as she had flesh torn from her bones, the abhorrent, soul crushing torture that she was forced to live through, kept just on the brink of consciousness and awareness the entire time. But worst of all it was the memories that she was forced to endure, the memories of losing the Winchester brothers in the most heinous ways possible. The recollection of watching them be tortured and not being able to do a single thing to stop it, never really knowing if it was real or all some sort of sick ploy to drive her insane. Whatever it was, it had stayed with her every single day since she was pulled out of the pit. Every time she looked at the brothers she heard the soul crushing screams as enormous meat hooks were threaded through their skin, she saw the hatred and betrayal in their eyes as they realised she was the one waiting in line for her turn to torture them senseless. Worst of all though, she remembered the feeling of her blade sinking into their flesh, peeling it back agonising inch by inch, remembered the pain and fear in their eyes as they begged her to stop, begged her to remember how much they loved her and how much she didn't seem to care. Enjoyed it even.

"Zoe!" Dean's voice dragged her screaming back to reality, he was kneeling in front of her his eyes wide as he grabbed at her hands. She looked down to where his hands were over hers thin streams of blood were trickling from the edge of the blade and pooling on the floor near her feet. She had been gripping the blade so hard it had cut a deep line through both of her palms, blood free flowing along the length of the blade staining it a garish red.

"Come on Zo, let it go kid," Dean's voice was so soft, his eyes gentle as he carefully removed the blade from her hands just as Sam came down the stairs holding two lengths of white material. Dean took them from his brother and tenderly wound the material around her hands, tying it off securely at the ends. His eyes trailed up to where Sam was standing behind Zoe on the stairs, his hazel eyes enormous and a look of pure distress on his features.  
>"Dean?" Zoe's watery blue eyes met the oldest Winchester's, recognition followed closely by sheer anguish crossing her face before she fell forwards her arms wrapping around his neck and her face buried into his shoulder.<p>

"It's okay, everything is okay, we're here," he wrapped his arms around her, surprised by how small she felt against his body and pulled her forwards until her body was against his. His hand came to rest on the back of her head as his troubled green eyes rose to meet Sam's hazel ones above him. They knew that this whole thing was taking a toll on her but neither of them had realised how bad it was.

"I don't want to go back to torturing you guys again," she mumbled against his neck, tears flowing from her eyes as she gripped at his t-shirt harder splitting her wounds apart even more.

"You never tortured us kiddo, never," Dean replied softly, his hand trailing up and down her back absently.

"I can't Dean," she sobbed, "I can't do this."

Sam took a seat on the step in front of his brother, his hands practically aching to reach out and comfort their friend. He knew the fear, the horror and the utter despair she was feeling. He understood the obligation she felt she had to make things right and worst of all he knew the price she would have to pay. Sam and Dean loved her like a sister and that was why they would go with her to the ends of the earth, they would protect her and do everything they could to make sure she knew they were there.

He watched his older brother fight back his own tears as he held Zoe steady, a heaviness weighing on his heart as he watched her descend into almost total hysteria. Wiping his eyes on the back of his sleeve Sam stood, a cold steeliness taking over his gaze as he stormed back inside of the church, passing the group standing at the back corner of the room and stalked straight towards where Crowley sat in the high backed chair right underneath the enormous cross at the front of the room.

"Moose," demonic eyes watched the younger Winchester intently, his fingers laced in his lap.

Sam took a shuddering breath forcing his shoulders back and meeting Crowley's even gaze, "you have a deal."


	8. Hunting Trip

Authors note: Thanks to everyone who has followed and added this bad boy to their favourites. It's truly encouraging. Please comment as well if you can, it always keeps me motivated and adds that little push to do a new chapter as well.

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 8**

"What Hell did you do?!" Dean and Sam were standing out the front of the church facing one another.

"I did what I had to do Dean," Sam spat back, "Zoe couldn't do this! It's eating her alive!"

"So you go and make a deal with Crowley? What were you thinking Sam!" Dean wasn't even attempting to keep his voice level as he growled at his brother, his hands trembling with anger.

"I was doing exactly what you always do! I was protecting someone I love Dean. If I have a chance to save her, to make this a little easier, why the Hell wouldn't I do whatever it took?" Sam growled watching his brother stalk back and forth in front of him.

"What was the deal Sam?" Zoe's voice was soft as she looked up at him from the steps with red eyes.

Dean glanced down at Zoe momentarily before looking to his brother with raised eyebrows, "go on then; tell her what you just agreed to. Tell her the stupid ass decision you made."

Sam shot his brother a venomous glare before turning back to face the young girl on the steps, "Crowley said he knows of a weapon that can separate you and your brother, reverse the blood bond between you guys, so we can kill him without hurting you. I made a deal with him, in exchange for that weapon he can call on me whenever he wants, for whatever he wants, for the next ten years."

Zoe's eyes went wide, her hands in tight fists around her blood stained bandages, "you agreed to be Crowley's whipping boy?"

Sam shook his head and let his breath seep out through his teeth slowly, "I did what I had to do. I wasn't about to just sit back and let you die for this, for us."  
>"You became Crowley's bitch!" Dean barked, his hands all out shaking as he ran them through his hair.<p>

"You would have done the same thing Dean! You're always the one throwing yourself under the bus for us so don't talk to me about making bad decisions when you know full well if the situation was reversed you would have done exactly the same thing."

Dean shook his head at his brother, his eyes blazing with barely concealed rage. Zoe couldn't seem to bring her eyes to meet either of them at that point, instead she stood up and like a ghost disappeared around the back of the church. Daryl was cleaning his knife by the back door, Rick talking with him in hushed tones when Zoe stalked passed them and off into the woods. Rick shot Daryl a quick glance as he rose to his feet.

"You go check on her, I'll see what's going on," Rick said with a small nod disappearing back inside as Daryl wiped the water from his blade, stuffed it back in its holder, grabbed his crossbow and headed out after the young girl.

She didn't have anywhere to go specifically, Zoe was just walking. Too many people had given their lives for her and for her brother. There was too much destruction and now with Sam throwing himself onto that pile she wasn't entirely certain that staying with the boys was worth it. Crowley had a bad habit of lying and blackmailing people for his own benefit and she couldn't see there being any such weapon or a reason for wanting to help keep her above ground. Crowley had made it impeccably clear last time that they had run into one another that if she so much as blinked at him he would cut her throat and leave her for the Hell Hounds. Whatever was going on was not about her, it was about Sam and getting him onside for something. She just didn't know what it was. Zoe was so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn't seen the walker crouched in the clearing in front of her feeding on a baby deer. By the time she was close enough to notice, the corpse was already on its feet, its blood stained teeth bared as it growled at her and stumbled forwards.

Daryl was standing just at the edge of the space of grass, his crossbow now propped in his hands, a bolt at the ready as he watched the decayed carcass edging closer to Zoe. Just as its hand came down on her shoulder though she stepped aside spinning around, her hand flying up to grasp the things head. There was a flash of white and as Daryl stepped out into the clearing the body crumpled to the floor, a bloodied hand print on its forehead. Zoe turned to face Daryl carefully, her eyes wide as he cautiously made his way up to the carcass on the floor.

"It's definitely dead," Zoe said softly.

He glanced back up at her warily before casually firing his bolt right between the things eyes, "what was that?"

"What was what?"

"The light show and the hand print and the dead guy," he remarked placing the toe of his boot on the walkers head and extracting his weapon.

Zoe ran a hand through her hair absently, blue eyes tired, "nothing, just a fancy little trick that I picked up when I was younger."

He wiped the remains of the walker's brain on his pant leg, threw the crossbow and ammo back on his back and turned to face her front on, "that's some pretty fucked up party trick."

Zoe watched the man before her carefully. He was like the Winchester's in so many ways, the way he was constantly watching and listening for anything that could pose a threat. Always on the defensive, his guard always up and an air of anger and determination about him. He was strong and sure of himself, his shoulders even and a piercing stare that showed he wasn't one to be meddled with. Unlike the brothers though there was something behind his fiery glare. Something, uncertain.

"Why'd you follow me?" Zoe's head cocked to the side in the slightest as she spoke. He liked it, the way it made her look so innocent even though she was far from that.

"Didn't want ya to get hurt," he replied easily, his eyes captivated by her strong frame. Daryl hadn't had much experience with women before the apocalypse had hit. Mostly any relation he had was fuelled by alcohol, lasted less than 24 hours and ended with him in bed alone nursing a hangover. He still had a lot to learn.

"That's nice of you, but I won't get hurt, it's okay if you want to go back," she kicked at a stone underneath her boot, "I'll be fine."

He looked down to the half mauled deer then back to her, "I was gonna go hunt anyway," he paused looking sideways at her, "y'can come along if you want."

Zoe looked him up and down a moment, taking in the scruffy shoes and the torn jeans he was sporting, right up to the powerful curve of his bicep and the lines of his shoulders. She couldn't help the slight smile that crossed her eyes, "sure. I need a break anyway."

"What happens from here then?" Rick was leaning against the wall of the church as the two boys sat on opposite pews in front of him.

"Well this idiot spends ten years of his life working off a debt," Dean hissed.

"What happens if he doesn't work off the debt? If he were to just not do what he was asked?"

"Then my little Hell hounds get a new chew toy," Crowley came wandering out of the office to Rick's right.

"That seems a little extreme," Rick folded his arms across his chest as he spoke.

"Them's the breaks kid. Moose knew what he was getting himself into when he signed up," Crowley smirked.

"You won't get the chance to take him you rancorous prick," Dean spat back.

Crowley's eyebrow cocked slightly as he chuckled, "big words little Squirrel, been reading the dictionary have we?"

"I'll do more than just use words in a second Crowley," Dean snapped back, his hands in fists as he stared up at the demon before him.

"Enough," Rick looked between the two angrily, his eyes weary and his voice heavy, "this ain't the place for your bullshit."

"I wouldn't worry Dean, Crowley won't get the chance to so much as look at Sam," all four sets of eyes turned to gaze down the aisle.

"Cas?" Sam exclaimed with a smile.

"Hello Sam, Dean," the angel gave them a nod as he walked towards them. A flood of relief followed by annoyance surged up through Dean and before Castiel had a chance to reach them Dean's fist connect with the angel's eye sending him staggering off to the right.

"Dean!" Sam barked, "what the Hell?!

"Where have you been Cas?" Dean was standing over the trench coat clad man as he regained his balance, "we were asking for your help for months! Begging you to help us find a way to make this shit right! Where were you? We needed you Castiel and, once again, you weren't there."

Rick watched wide eyed as the scene unfolded before him, whatever it was that had happened between the group, he was certain he had missed out on so much more than he realised.

"I," Cas met Dean's gaze evenly, "I'm sorry Dean. But I have a solution, something that can save Zoe."

"Thanks but apparently we are fine," Dean growled, glaring at his brother.

"No, Dean," Cas took a step forwards, his gaze intense, "you aren't."

Zoe was lying on the floor quietly, her gaze focused on the open space in front of her. Daryl's hand was resting over hers, the warmth from his body practically washing over her as he lay next to her belly down on the cool floor.

"Aim just off to the left of where you wanna hit," he whispered, his breath shifting a few stray strands of her dark hair as he spoke. She had been trained how to shoot by John years ago, a skill she had only ever really refined over the years. She was a better shot than most, and nearly as good as the Winchester brothers. Zoe took a slow breath, aiming just as Daryl had told her and carefully pulled back the trigger. The bolt went sailing through the air and plunged into the back of the squirrel, pinning it to the tree as it went limp. Her eyes lit up as she lowered the crossbow from her eyes and turned to look at the man next to her. When she turned, their faces were so close that the tip of her nose almost brushed up against his, her heart skipping a beat in her chest as she gave him a fleeting smile.

"Nice shot," he breathed, his eyes dark in the shadows.

Zoe felt her lip curl up into a half smile, her blue eyes dancing as she felt his calloused fingers still lingering against the soft skin of her hand.

Before she even had a chance to consider what she was about to do, Zoe leaned forwards and pressed her lips against his. Daryl stayed stock still for a second, his eyes wide as he felt the gentle pressure of the curve of her lips against his, the heat rising from her body as she hesitantly leaned a little closer to him. The only thing he could hear was the hammering of his heart against his rib cage and just as Zoe was about to pull away from him she felt his lips start to move against hers. It was tentative and a little awkward to start with but as she shuffled closer to him and pressed her body against his he became far less uneasy. His hand slid to the small of her back, his tongue sliding along her bottom lip eliciting a low moan from her before delving into her mouth. She moved so that he rolled onto his back, her legs straddling his waist, her hands trailing down over his broad chest as she revelled in the warmth of his touch, a burning heat swelling inside of her as he bit down softly on her bottom lip. His hands came to rest on the tops of her legs, his fingers gripping her tightly as she kissed a trail down across his cheek, his jaw bone and sinking her teeth into the flesh of his neck. He let out an involuntary growl, his back arching a little at the insatiable pain that flushed through him. Zoe grinned against his neck, kissing the spot she had just bitten before sitting back and smiling at him. Daryl watched her for a moment before looking away at the crossbow lying next to them.

"We should probably go," and just as quickly as it had started Zoe was gone, walking out of their hiding spot over to where the squirrel was suspended and pulling it from the tree. Daryl lay still for a moment, his eyes wide as he stared up at the thin beams of sunlight trickling down through the trees. He took a deep, shuddering breath and tried to wipe the smile off his face as he hauled himself off the ground.


	9. Stand together

Authors note: Thanks to everyone who has followed and added this bad boy to their favourites. It's truly encouraging. Please comment as well if you can, it always keeps me motivated and adds that little push to do a new chapter as well.

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 9**

"Cas?!" Zoe shoved the squirrel into Daryl's hand as she came barrelling out of the trees and practically threw herself at the angel. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and lifted her off the ground with an easy smile.

"I missed you, where have you been?" she spoke into his shoulder, her arms tightening a little around his neck as he set her back on the ground. Ever since the two had met years before there was an instant connection that neither of them could explain. Maybe it was the Nephilim thing coming out in Zoe, responding to one of her own kind, or it could have been that she had always secretly had a bit of a crush on Castiel. Whatever it was, at that moment she felt safer and far calmer than she had in a long time.

"I'm sorry Zoe," his voice was soft as his arms fell away from her, "I didn't mean to disappear. I've had a lot happening."

"I know," her voice came out as a whisper, her eyes turning down to the rather sad looking grass under her feet, "but so have we."

Something in her tone hit a nerve inside of him, a hollow sort of pit forming in his stomach that made him wrap his arms back around her and pull her against his body once more. Zoe let her head rest against Cas's chest, her eyes closing against the watery film that had started to form over her deep blue eyes.

"He knows where I am Cas," Zoe's voice was so soft he had to lean down to hear her, "he'll find me here, he's not going to stop until I'm gone."

Castiel had grown a lot since meeting the three hunters. He had experienced life as a human, known hunger and guilt and pain. He was far more sympathetic towards the human condition than he had been when they first met. Sadly there were still many things that he hadn't had the chance to learn, though he was familiar with the sense of uncertainty and dread that hearing Zoe's words brought up inside of him.

He let the young girl go, his hands falling down to her arms lightly, "nothing will happen to you. I've warded you against him anyway, and even if he does manage to find you, I'll make sure you're safe. You have my word."

Zoe let her eyes meet Castiel's, something in the determined set of his shoulders telling her that she would be okay, with Heaven and now Hell rooting for her, how could she not be?

"Who's this guy?" Rick met Daryl at bottom of the stairs, taking the squirrel from him as he set down his crossbow.

"A friend," Dean replied instantly, his voice clipped.

"We need to discuss that," Rick exclaimed.

"Discuss what exactly?" Sam raised his eyebrows expectantly, "he's a friend. He found us here. That's all there is."

Rick handed Daryl the squirrel and rested his hands on his hips casually, he didn't believe them and he was just about to say something when Crowley came sauntering out of the church.

"Careful what you promise angel boy," Crowley smiled, "there's only so much you can do to stop this from happening."

Castiel's gaze turned to meet Crowley's, his eyes dark, "you know nothing of what I am capable of Crowley."

"Now there's the little uptight angel I remember," the demon smiled again and leaned against the door frame.

"Shut it Crowley," Dean snapped, "We don't need you rocking the boat any more than you already have and don't you have a weapon to go find?"

He shot Dean a quick glance before raising his eyebrows and with a click of his fingers he was gone.

Castiel turned to face the two brothers with a look of confusion, "I thought the deal was off?"

Sam ran his hand through his hair absently, "you know as well as we do you don't just back out of a deal with Crowley."

The angel gave him a curt nod before turning back to Zoe, "stay with the group, I'll make sure nothing happens. I've got to get back though. I'm sorry."

Zoe nodded and in the millisecond it took her to blink he was gone. She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, her hands resting on her hips as she looked over to the brothers. Dean was staring intently at her, his eyes still filled with anger and worry, whilst Sam was too busy being far away somewhere else caught up in his own thoughts.

"Friends don't disappear into thin air like that," Rick exclaimed from the porch, his gaze steady as the three new comers slowly turned to face him.

Dean let out a long sigh before nodding his head, "you're right. They don't."

It was going to be another long day.

Crowley picked at a small piece of dirt underneath his nail as he waited in the enormous foyer in the Atlanta based hospital room.

"Ah Crowley," a young dark haired man came sauntering out from the double doors in front of the demon, "how utterly tedious to see you."

"Tobias," Crowley gave him a curt nod, "still the crowd pleaser I see."

"Kings need to rule Crowley, though I don't suspect you would have any idea of that given your 'reign'," the boy's eyes flashed a horrible red as he took a seat opposite Crowley, "enough pleasantries though, what do you have for me?"

Crowley casually crossed one of his legs over the other, "the children know nothing of where you are, they are still looking to go to DC to find you. It's actually quite sad, how unwaveringly determined they are."

"Good, we need them to keep thinking they are on the right path," Tobias nodded, "we have their women here so I assume they will be coming for them soon, correct?"

Crowley nodded slightly, "those three can't keep away from a good damsel in distress story so I imagine they will come in all guns blazing."

"Good," Tobias's red eyes met Crowley's intensely, "I assume there is nothing else you need to tell me?"

Crowley didn't miss a single beat, his face remaining stoic as he gave the young man a brief shake of his head, "nothing, that group is incredibly bland."

Tobias watched Crowley for a moment more before waving his hand at him and just as quickly as he had appeared the demon was gone, leaving Tobias in the room on his own.

Daryl was sitting on the back steps of the church later that night, his crossbow sitting across his legs casually as he stared out at the darkness in front of him. He had explained everything to the group about Beth, how he and Carol had found a survivor who had told them she was being kept at the hospital and how she had helped him escape. He told them about the journey back to the church and how along the way they had met Crowley and how they had been swarmed and the kid had been bitten. No one seemed to flinch when Daryl said he had shot the boy in the head before getting out of there, it was just something everyone had come to terms with having to do. Though as Daryl sat staring into the remarkably loud woodland around him, he still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in his chest.

"You had a brother didn't you?" He turned to look over his shoulder as Zoe came out of the doors and took a seat next to him on the steps.

Daryl shifted a little uncomfortably as she sat down, adding a little bit more distance between them before replying, "yeah I did. How'd you know that?"

"I remember you," she smiled fleetingly, "I remember both of you."

His eyebrows narrowed as she leaned her elbows on her knees and looked down at the stairs, "how?"

Her blue eyes remained where they were as she spoke, "years ago, when things were really simple, when all we were doing was saving people and hunting things, Dean took a call from this guy in Atlanta saying that there had been a really strange murder at this tiny little shack of a house and we should go check it out."

Daryl sucked in a deep breath as she recounted what had happened, an event he knew all too well, and was even accused of being involved in, "Merle's hooker that got smeared all over the wall right? I don't remember you at all from that though."

Zoe bit the inside of her lip and nodded, "yeah that's the one. When we got there it was pretty clear what had done it and it definitely wasn't you or your brother. I remember seeing the cops dragging you out of the house and even then I remember thinking you were pretty damn cute for a potential murderer."

Daryl glanced at her sideways, "liar."

She couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up and out of her, "no I'm serious. I also remember the look of sheer devastation on your face when you realised who it was that had done it."

He fell silent for a moment, his body tensing at the thought, his voice angry as he spoke, "that was a long time ago."

Zoe nodded slightly, her hands clasping together tightly, "yeah. It was."

The two sat in an awkward silence before Daryl finally managed to pluck up the courage to speak, "Merle was convinced that it was all just drugs and alcohol related. That I imagined the ghost thing and that she blew her brains out 'cause she was high. He refused to believe that it was anything else, no matter what I told him. I wasn't allowed to talk about it at all after that."

"Weren't _allowed_?" Zoe questioned.

Daryl let out another sigh and played with his crossbow, "yeah."

"Why?"

His heavy eyes met hers in the darkness, "because that's how it was with Merle. I ain't like Sam, I didn't get along with my older brother that well. We lived together because of circumstances, not 'cause we wanted to. We never got along that well. We got into a massive fight over the whole Mom's ghost thing that he broke my wrist and told me I deserved it for being such a little bitch."

Zoe nodded slightly and went back to staring at the bottom step.

"Sorry," Daryl mumbled after a while.

"Don't apologise," she shook her head slightly, "everyone has their thing, their own personal demons that they are battling, or have battled. Trust me, I know."

Something in her tone made Daryl ask, "what's your thing?"

Zoe lifted her eyes to meet Daryl's watching her, "my thing?"

"Yeah, the personal demon or whatever," he leaned back onto his hand.

The young girl gave him a heart breakingly sad smile, "I got more demons in my past than I care to even think about. Trust me, you don't want to know."

"Try me."

Zoe watched him for a few seconds before shaking her head sadly, "no. There's too much, it's the nature of what the Winchester brothers do, what all hunters do. You travel from place to place and you kill whatever it is out there, regardless of whether it's human or has a family or anything. You do what needs to be done to make sure people can live. Most of the days are spent trolling through newspapers and the internet and everything to find weird deaths or picking up hints of something strange happening. Then you go out there, to some town in the middle of nowhere, you lie, you steal, you do whatever you have to do in order to get information. Then you get your weapons together and you go and kill whatever it is that is raining destruction on the town."

She bit her top lip and looked at her hands, "but sometimes you kill the wrong thing. Sometimes you kill someone who had a family, had children, and was living a good life in spite of their being a monster. The worst is demons, because they take over some poor person's body and you have to stand over them and watch as that person comes back for the briefest of moments. You get to see the utter terror in their eyes as they realise what is happening to them, as they take their last breath and slip into an abyss of nothingness."

Daryl watched her closely as she closed her eyes, "you ruin people's lives, you become your own special sort of monster and the destruction you leave behind never ever goes away. You can't get close to people because somewhere down the track they'll die because of you. Some fucked up monster wanting revenge will take advantage of everything that you hold dear, use it against you and I'll tell you what. It ain't like the movies. They don't just give you back what they took, they will slit that person's throat and make you watch regardless of whether you give them what they want or not. That sort of destruction, that sort of guilt it follows you everywhere. Every single day and no amount of talking or travelling or fighting ever eases that pain. We have lost people, friends, family, people we loved for this cause. People that protected us, loved us, trusted us. We were the reason they died, and you have no concept of what it feels like to know that every single last one of them died because of you. Because of a cause that doesn't even matter now considering all those people we saved are probably brain dead killers. So no, I don't want to try you Daryl, because I don't want another single person to die because of us, because of me."

Dean ran his fingertips across his forehead trying to let what Zoe had said go, his eyes watching her as she pushed herself off of the step and walked down and around the front of the church. Daryl stood up, turning to go and find who his replacement was for the watch but instead was met with Dean's tired green eyes staring back at him.

"You should go get some sleep, you're gonna need it for tomorrow," Dean said softly, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Daryl nodded slightly in response his hands grasping his crossbow as he walked across to the doorway. Just as the older Winchester was walking down the steps to take a seat though Daryl turned backed to face him.

"Hey, I, uh," Daryl chewed on his lower lip as Dean turned and looked up at him expectantly, "I'm really sorry about the life y'all have had to lead. Don't sound like much fun."

Dean looked down at his scuffed and worn out boots before meeting Daryl's gaze once more, "It isn't. But having my brother and that girl around to share the load, makes it just that little bit more bearable. Like if they're there, if we stand together, we can take on anything."

Without another word Dean sat himself down on the step quietly watching the woods while Daryl silently walked back inside leaving Dean to his own harrowed memories.


	10. Wheeling and Dealing

Authors note: Thanks to everyone who has followed and added this bad boy to their favourites. It's truly encouraging. I have diverted quite a bit from the original story lines here, though I guess that's the beauty of fan fics is that you can do that! So don't hate me for it please! and please do comment if you can, it always keeps me motivated and makes me really happy to know that people are enjoying what I'm doing (or equally gives me things to improve on too which is also awesome!).

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 10**

Zoe didn't even bother to tell anyone where she was going, she just needed to be away from the church for a while. The entire place felt stifling for her, as if there was an overbearing pressure surrounding her every time she entered. No matter what she did though she couldn't seem to escape the fate she had been assigned. She hadn't explained her brother's and her lives to people in such a long time that bringing it up made her uneasy, it was something she had tried to forget for so long that when someone asked about it she still felt the same pang of apprehension and deep seeded hatred. Without realising it she was running her thumb across the now white scarred words on her arm her eyes nearly vacant as she wandered through the overgrown woodland. She was so busy getting caught in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice when Crowley was standing in front of her until she had walked right into him and ended up sprawled on the ground.

"Not exactly the picture of health are we?" Crowley gave her a smile, the same devilish grin that dredged up a flurry of emotions she couldn't get a good grasp on.

"Shut it Crowley," Zoe hissed, pushing herself up from the floor just as he grabbed her hand and helped her. Zoe felt her breath get caught in the back of her throat as his hand wrapped around hers and held her steady for a moment before dropping back to his side.

"I missed you too darling," he said with a smirk, his brown eyes sparkling with something more than the usual contempt they often held.

"What do you want Crowley?" she wanted with every ounce of her being to sound angry, but instead she just sounded weary and tired.

"Believe it or not, I wanted to make sure you were okay," he stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked the young girl in front of him up and down momentarily, "though clearly that's the one thing you're not."

"Don't you have some sort of a weapon to go and find or something?" Zoe looked sideways at him for a moment before continuing on the way she had been going before.

"Yeah, turns out that isn't going to work out the way I had hoped it would."

"What are you talking about?" Zoe spun to face him angrily, "you don't have a weapon do you? There's nothing that can separate the two of us is there?"

Crowley smiled once more at the girl before him, his eyes practically ablaze in the moon, "not exactly. I thought about it some more, and sadly the Winchester that made the deal is not the Winchester I needed to make that deal."

"What bullshit are you sprouting now?" Zoe sighed, folding her arms over her chest.

"I needed the Squirrel, not the Moose," the demon said with a shrug.

Zoe's eyebrows pulled together as she looked Crowley up and down, "why do you need Dean?"

He shrugged, a mischievous smirk on his face, "he's got the flare that I'm looking for."

"Flare? What the Hell are you talking about?"

"You ask too many questions you know that?"

"What are you trying to do Crowley? What sick, twisted plan do you have for those two brothers?" the ferocity in her voice made the demon pause for a moment, though his face was still stoic, his mind was running like a freight train.

"I want Dean, he's just unhinged enough that he would be the perfect person for the Mark of Cain, then he can go and get all that pent up rage out by killing that pain in the ass Abaddon and I can go back to my little corner of Hell and rule, like I so rightly deserve to," his eyes narrowed as he watched the woman before him mulling over what he had just said.

Sam stood by the back door watching as Dean paced back and forth across the patch of grass near the bottom of the steps. The one thing Sam had always hated was animosity between him and his brother. It had become such a common part of his relationship with their Dad that when John died, Sam had made himself a promise that he wouldn't have the same relationship with Dean. The past few years had been strained, but they had managed to get back on track, especially when they had a single united cause bringing them together and pushing them forwards. They had a common goal that required both of them to stand together like they never had before. His only worry now was that once they had gotten Zoe to DC their relationship would be back where it had once been. He sucked in a deep breath and wandered out onto the back porch.

"Dean," he stopped at the bottom of the steps, his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the railing causally.

"Hey," his older brother stopped pacing and faced him, "everything okay in there?"

"Yeah, I just uh," Sam cleared his throat awkwardly, "I just wanted to make sure you were all good out here."

Dean's eyebrows narrowed momentarily, "yeah, fine."

He had practically raised his baby brother, he knew more about Sam than Sam knew about himself some days and in moments like these it was almost painfully easy to see that something more was going on, "what's really going on Sammy?"

The youngest Winchester sank down onto the bottom step, his eyes down turned to the grass as his brother came to lean against the opposite rail, "talk to me little brother, what's wrong?"

He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his shaggy hair, "I've been thinking about what Cas said earlier, and I don't know Dean, what if we can't save her? What if all of this turns out to be for pretty much nothing, then what? What happens to us after that?"

Dean's green eyes met his brother's worried hazel ones in the dim light, "it won't be for nothing, Sammy, trust me. Everything is going to work out I swear."

There was a certainty and an unwavering determination in his older brother's voice that seemed to settle Sam a little. His mind slowed down just enough so as he could string together a coherent thought, his head falling into his hands as he tried to get a grasp on everything.

"Sam," Dean knelt down in front of his brother, his look intense and unwavering, "I promise you, this will all work out okay."

"How can you be so sure?" Sam's voice was quiet in the open space.

"Because, it's always been okay Sam. As long as we were together, as long as we tackled things together it was always okay. Even with everything we have lost, everything we stand to lose. Sammy this will work out. Just like it always has. I swear, you don't have anything to be worried about."

"I hope you're right Dean. For everyone's sake."

"So you're saying," Zoe had her hands on her hips as she kicked at the dirt, "if I help you convince Dean that this Mark of Cain is the best possibly chance he has at saving me, then Sammy is off the hook _and_ Dean gets to walk away scot free, so long as he kills Abaddon for you?"

Crowley gave her a single nod, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight, "that's right. One Squirrel and one Moose, safely by your side. Like always."

Zoe eyed him for a long moment before raking her hand through her rather matted hair.

"So, sweetheart," Crowley stepped forwards, "do we have a deal?"

Defiant blue eyes met hungry brown ones in the silver moonlight, the whole world standing still in that single second. A silence so loud Zoe was almost certain it would consume her whole.

"Fine," she hissed.

Crowley leaned forwards, a wave of mint, tobacco and alcohol washing over her senses as he stopped inches from her face, "how about a kiss to seal this one?"

She felt one eye twitch slightly as she glared at him, and before she had a chance to do anything he had pressed his lips to hers. A movement so dishearteningly familiar that no matter how hard she tried she couldn't seem to stop herself from kissing him back, her lips sliding against his carefully as he bit down rather hard onto her bottom lip, a good kind of pain surging through her whole body. Just as quickly as he had appeared, he was gone, leaving Zoe standing alone in the woods, the salty taste of blood on her tongue and a weight in her heart so heavy she was sure she would crumble underneath it.


	11. Get moving

Authors note: Thanks to everyone who has followed and added this bad boy to their favourites. It's truly encouraging. I have diverted quite a bit from the original story lines here, though I guess that's the beauty of fan fics is that you can do that! So don't hate me for it please! and please do comment if you can, it always keeps me motivated and makes me really happy to know that people are enjoying what I'm doing (or equally gives me things to improve on too which is also awesome!).

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 11**

When Zoe emerged from her walk she was met with Daryl's glaring blue eyes, the muscles in his arms and shoulders tight with tension as he stared at her.

"What's wrong?" she didn't want to chance moving, though the piercing stare he was fixing her with was enough to make her wary.

"Why were you kissin' Crowley?" his voice was deadpan, not even a quiver of emotion coming through.

Zoe's eyes narrowed slightly, "why do you ask?"

The man shook his head a little, his gaze never once leaving her face, "are you two seein' each other?"

The girl's heart seemed to lurch, an involuntary smile crossing her tired face, "no, Crowley and I are a complicated sort of story."  
>"Is that why you were kissing him?" Daryl bit back.<p>

"You kissed Crowley?" Sam's voice carried across the little clearly as he and Dean came to join them by the side of the church, "that's disgusting."

"Why would you…" Dean's voice trailed off as a look of realisation fell over his heavy features, "what did you do?"

Zoe shook her head slightly, her eyes pleading with the eldest Winchester.

"What did you do?!" Dean's voice rose as he stepped towards her, his green eyes still piercing even in the darkness.

"She made out with Crowley that's what," Daryl spat back, his voice tainted with discontent this time.

"No she didn't," Sam shook his head and looked to the ground sadly, "she made a deal."

Dean stepped towards Zoe, his jaw clenched as he came to stand directly in front of her, his voice strained as he tried to mask his anger, "what deal did you make?"

Zoe tilted her head back to look up at him, her blue eyes shimmering with barely concealed tears as she spoke, "I did what I had to do Dean. Like always."

She could practically see the words settling inside of his mind, his mouth twitching as the rest of his body remained stock still. A flicker of recognition and understanding passed across his eyes though, a glimmer of hope that he understood exactly what it was Zoe had felt the urge to do. She knew Dean well enough to know that he would have done exactly the same thing in her situation. It was almost like a Winchester family trait to be willing to give their own life to save the family, a trait that Zoe had unknowingly adopted in her time with the brothers.

"Where is Crowley anyway?" Sam piped up from behind the two of them.

Zoe's eyes closed as she let her head fall back slightly, her words coming out like a whisper on the wind, "he's gone to get that weapon he was talking about."

"At least he's keeping to one promise," Dean barked, "what exactly was the deal you decided to run off and make behind our backs?"

Zoe's teeth clenched as she stared back at Dean indignantly, "all I needed to do was convince you that you are the best candidate for some Mark of Cain or something and then you just need to kill Abaddon and you, me and Sammy get to walk away."

Sam's eyebrows raised in surprise as he spoke, "just like that?"  
>Zoe's blue eyes flickered over to where he was standing, the watery film that had been there before almost completely non-existent, "just like that."<p>

Dean folded his arms over his chest, his green eyes watching Zoe closely as she shrugged to Sam, "so I have to get this, Mark of Cain, and kill some asshat of a demon and we're good to go?"

"As if anything is ever that easy," Sam scoffed, turning to look back at the church briefly.

"You're telling me Sammy," Dean agreed.

Sam looked across to where Daryl was watching the exchange with a furrowed brow, his shoulders hunched slightly as everything they were saying seemed to pass over his head. Sam cleared his voice and, when Dean glanced over his shoulder to his younger brother, nodded towards the church, "we should really head in and get ready for tomorrow though. Details can wait right?"

Dean's eyes fell back on Zoe who was still staring back at him fiercely, "I guess it can."

Zoe nodded her head as Dean leaned forwards, his body so close to Zoe that she could practically swim in the anger, apprehension and underlying fear flooding from him, his voice barely loud enough for even her to hear, "you better be damn sure this deal is worth it kid."

"It is."

Without so much as another word the older brother turned on his heel and stalked back towards the church, clapping Sam on the shoulder as he went passed and just like that Zoe and Daryl were left standing together in the cool Atlanta air.

Zoe closed her eyes briefly, taking a shuddering breath as she let her head fall forwards slightly and her hands rest on her hips. After a few brief moments of rather welcome silence she looked up to see Daryl watching her closely, his whole body radiating a sort of awkwardness that she wasn't used to.

"Go on then, get pissy at me for kissing Crowley," she grumbled, "you may as well be mad at me too seeing as everyone else is."

"Why would I?" he shifted his weight uncomfortably, "ain't like we're datin' or somethin'. You kissed me once, that don't mean nothin' and by the sounds you kissed him for a reason."

Zoe's eyebrows narrowed as he shrugged nonchalantly at her, "you seemed pretty annoyed about it just before though."

"I wasn't annoyed, I just don't wanna get involved in some twisted little who's fuckin' who game," his tone was clipped as he spoke, "there's enough bullshit drama around here without adding that crap to it."

"I'm not sleeping with Crowley," Zoe hissed, a sick sort of weight in her chest, "we have a past but that's definitely not in it. He's repulsive."

"What past?"

Zoe let out a slow breath between her teeth, "years ago now, when he and I were cooped up together," she hesitated, "downstairs, we had a bit of a fling. We never slept together though, it was mostly just a lot of angry make out sessions and a bit of playful S and M."

She looked over to where Daryl was staring back at her, his expression unreadable, "S and M?"

Zoe couldn't stop the slight smirk that twitched at the edge of her lips, "yeah, you know. Bondage and stuff."

"But y'all never slept together?" he sounded sceptical.

"No," she ran an absent hand through her hair, "the King of Hell can't be sleeping with lowly little human souls."

In the silence of that little opening, Zoe suddenly felt very self-conscious, her hands wrapping across her body as flashes of her time in the dungeons with Crowley came flooding back like an explosion. She kicked at a piece of gravel on the ground trying desperately to push the thoughts away. It had been good for a while, when she had gotten in way over her head. When she had been enjoying flaying undeserving souls, had actually gotten some sort of twisted satisfaction out of the feeling of someone's bones snapping under pressure. That was before she remembered who she was, what she had done. Zoe felt bile rise in the back of her throat, her eyes tearing at the sourness it brought with it. When she looked back up Daryl was standing directly in front of her, his body merely inches from hers. She felt her breath get caught in her throat as the blue of his irises seemed to completely disappear behind his dilated pupils.

"So," he glanced down at the miniscule space between them, "this S and M stuff. Are you uh, are you still into that?"

Zoe couldn't stop the smirk that spread across her face, "well that depends."

Daryl swallowed hard, suddenly feeling utterly uneasy and uncomfortable, his uncharacteristic boldness disappearing instantly. As she stared up at him from under her eyelashes all he could think of doing was kissing her, feeling her body move against his as he explored every square inch of her.

"On," his voice sounded distant and shaky, "uh, on what?"

She stood on her tippy toes, all self-consciousness forgotten, her eyes nearly level with his as she leaned forwards and whispered into his ear, her breath sending shivers through him, "on what you wanna do to me."

His eyes squeezed closed as she slowly traced her hand down across his shoulder, over his chest and stopping just above the waistband of his pants. She carefully slid her fingertips across the top of his pants, just grazing against his skin as she edged her hand up against his stomach, tucking it underneath his top and smiling at the heat rippling from him. Zoe felt her breath catch as Daryl's body shivered underneath her hand his mouth falling open slightly as he tried to take a few deep breaths.

"Tell me," she whispered again, "what exactly is it that you had in mind for me?"

As if his body was working totally independently, Daryl's hands had slid up along the length of her arms, his calloused hands surprisingly gentle against her skin before tangling into her hair, pulling her towards him. He pressed his lips to her, tentatively at first, much like before, only this time around he seemed to get the rhythm much quicker. The nervous, uneasiness disappearing after a few very brief seconds and the almost primal side of him taking over.

His tongue pushed against her lips hungrily, delving inside of her mouth and exploring every square inch he could reach. He barely seemed to even flinch when Zoe groaned against him and pressed her body closer to his, her heart hammering against her chest as she slid her other hand beneath his shirt, her nails raking down along his abdomen. Without even realising he had done it he hissed against her, surrendering entirely to the feeling of her nails against his skin, the heat pulsing from her body and the way her mouth seemed to fit perfectly against his, moving in perfect time with his. He untangled one hand from her hair and slid it down her neck, his fingers aching to touch so much more of her, along the line of her spine before settling against her lower back, pressing her against him harder. She gasped at the sudden show of certainty and arched against him, her hands tracing a line around the waist band of his pants before slipping just slightly inside, her nails grazing against into his hip bone slightly. She sank her teeth into his bottom lip, just enough for him to feel it before moving her hips slightly against his, the friction of the material sending a ripple of pleasure through her. Daryl groaned at the movement, both hands coming to rest underneath her top on her hips, his fingernails digging into her skin as he stopped kissing her, his body overtaken by the feeling of her movements. After an achingly short second she stopped moving, her eyes wild and her breathing laboured as she watched him try and regain some sort of composure. His chest was heaving with every breath he took, his eyes still closed and his hands now only resting on her hips instead of gripping into them.

"I," he shook his head a little, his voice gravelly as he finally peeled his eyelids open, "I want to do um."

Zoe smiled up at him a little, her cheeks flushed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her whole body flush against his, her voice coming out far huskier than she had intended it to, "you want to do what?"

His hands wrapped around her waist in an attempt to steady himself, "I want to do everything to you. Before I miss out."

Zoe pulled back from him, her eyes reflecting the same raw desire as his, "there's an abandoned house just down the road," she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and smiled at him.

Before she had a chance to say anything more he planted a soft, lingering kiss on her lips and glanced behind him at the church before nodding.

"Lead the way."


	12. Cain

Authors note: Thanks to everyone who has followed and added this bad boy to their favourites. It's truly encouraging. I have diverted quite a bit from the original story lines here, though I guess that's the beauty of fan fics is that you can do that! So don't hate me for it please! and please do comment if you can, it always keeps me motivated and makes me really happy to know that people are enjoying what I'm doing (or equally gives me things to improve on too which is also awesome!).

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 12**

The house Zoe had seen with the brothers early was barely even five minutes down the road from where the church was, and much like most houses around that area had been left entirely open. Zoe had cleared the bottom floor of the house whilst Daryl had taken the top, though neither of them seemed to find anything at all, not even a broken window, it was almost as if the entire house had just been left as it was. Zoe made sure the doors downstairs were secured before pulling the blinds closed and sheathing her blade. She could just make out Daryl's footsteps above her and for a brief moment, she let the butterflies in her stomach take over and let out a shaky breath before heading up the stairs to see where he was. She had barely even stepped onto the landing when she felt Daryl's hand clasp around her arm and pull her towards him, her body against his as he pressed his lips hungrily to hers.

After a moment she leaned back from him and smirked, "someone seems to have found a bit of confidence."

He gave her a half-hearted shrug, the uncertainty starting to slowly take over his body once more, though this time it didn't feel the same as it always had before. When Zoe pressed her lips to his it seemed to completely evaporate, his hands trailing across her shoulders easily and tentatively exploring new areas of her body as she tugged at the bottom of his shirt exposing the skin of his lower abdomen.

"Look what I found," Zoe whispered as her hand trailed down to play with the waist band of his jeans, her free hand holding a row of unopened condoms, a sultry smile on her lips.

Daryl returned her smile before stepping back from her, his hands resting on her shoulders as he whispered, "are you sure…"

He lost all train of thought as she pressed her lips against his throat, revelling in the gasp of surprise that escaped his lips. His arms snaked around her waist as he pressed against her, her teeth sinking into the flesh of his shoulder. A low growl formed in the back of his throat and before he could do anything she was already dragging him towards the nearest bedroom.

"I don't know about this Dean," Sam was leaning against the wall in the back of the church, his hands fidgeting with a piece of thread uneasily.

"It's just some silly little mark, like a tattoo or something Sammy, what could possibly be so bad about it?" His older brother shrugged and clicked the clip back into his gun.

"You don't know that Dean," Sam quipped angrily, "it could be anything! This thing could kill you!"

"It's better than the alternative," Dean sighed, he didn't have the energy to fight with his brother.

"You dying is better than me being in debt to Crowley?"

"Yes Sam," Dean glared up at his brother, "anything is better than you being Crowley's bitch and Zoe ending up dead."

Sam watched as his brother went back to cleaning and checking his guns. He knew Dean would take the deal regardless of what Sam said, if it meant that he saved his family, Dean would always take the deal. So instead of arguing the point Sam simply picked up one of the guns by his brothers side and started running through the checks, just like they had been taught.

Zoe was straddling Daryl's hips on the bed as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt planting soft kisses against every inch of newly exposed flesh. Just as her hands slid down to the waist band of his jeans he pulled her up crushing his lips hungrily against hers as her body pressed down onto his. She smiled as his hand fisted in her hair holding her head steady as his teeth grazed against her neck. Everything about him; from the way he moved to the way he breathed, sent waves of heat storming through Zoe's veins, like her own personal brand of drug. She whimpered against him as his hand slid painfully slowly down her chest and up underneath the thin material of her top. In one surprisingly steady movement he rolled her onto her back, his hands practically ripping her top up over her head as he slid his hand down between the material of her jeans and her underwear. She sucked in a breath and arched against him as his fingers grazed across her.

"Now who's lost their confidence?" he smirked, sinking his teeth into her neck as his fingers pressed against her a little harder.

After what felt like an age Sam had finally dropped off to sleep curled up in a ball at the back of the church. Michonne had taken watch out the front whilst the rest of the group tried their hardest to get some kind of rest before the following day. Dean however, couldn't manage to get his brain to stop, it was practically sparking with the information that Zoe had given them before, about the Mark of Cain and the rather unknown outcome of his own life now. After a while of tossing and turning he finally decided to get some fresh air, slipping out the back of the church quietly before anyone noticed. The cool Atlanta air instantly seemed to wake him up, the hairs on his arms standing on end as he stretched out, his spine cracking all the way from his neck to his coccyx.

"Ah Squirrel," Crowley's words had barely even reached his ears when Dean's blade was out and at the ready.

"Calm down," the demon rolled his eyes, "I'm here to see if you're willing to take a little trip with yours truly."

The Winchester's green eyes narrowed menacingly, "where exactly is it that you want to take me?"

Crowley's lips twitched into a slight smile, "I have an old friend I think you should meet, swap some war stories, maybe a Mark or two. What do you say?"

Dean felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, his hand white knuckling the knife it was wrapped around as he sucked in a deep breath.

"This _old_ friend of yours," he rolled his shoulders a little, "how old are we talking."

The demon's shoulders rose and dropped in a half-hearted shrug, "one, two thousand years old. Depends on who you speak to really."

Dean swallowed hard and nodded, "and if I go in there, take that Mark, or whatever it is, you swear Sammy is off the hook _and_ Zoe gets to live? She won't die with her brother?"

"You have my word. So long as you kill Abaddon, you get everything you want little Winchester," Crowley raised an eyebrow expectantly, "so Dean, do we have an agreement?"

Daryl arched up against Zoe as her teeth sank into his shoulder, his hands sliding down over the corded muscles in her back as he tried not to groan. He couldn't help the pure wave of pleasure that rocketed through his body as she kissed and nipped a slow trail down from his neck to his navel. Their tops and jeans were thrown across the room in a rush and both remained only in their underwear. Zoe stopped just above his boxers, her blue eyes catching in the moonlight as she looked up his body to his unnaturally dilated pupils. The devilish grin that spread across her lips was enough to make his entire body tingle with a raw desire. He barely had enough time to enjoy the sensation before he felt Zoe's mouth wet and hot sliding down over him. This time around he couldn't stop the growl that rumbled from his chest.

Dean wiped the small droplet of saliva from the corner of his mouth before fixing Crowley with a glare, "I thought it was only angels that could do the whole transportation bullshit."

Crowley was leaning against a mixed brick wall looking utterly uninterested as Dean straightened himself up, the urge to dry heave finally subsiding as he looked around at the farm house they found themselves at.

"Where in the Hell did you bring me?" Dean hissed.

"You're in Missouri," came a voice from just above them, "though I don't know for the life of me what for."

Dean stepped back to get a clear line of site onto the porch. A rather tall and remarkably muscular man stood on the steps staring down at the two of them.

"You Cain?" Dean spoke instantly, totally unaware of Crowley's cowering frame behind him.

"That would be me," the man spoke, his biceps bulging as he crossed his arms over his chest, "who's asking?"

"Dean Winchester, I hear you have some sort of Mark I'm supposed to be borrowing for a while," Dean tucked his hands into his pockets with a shrug.

The older man's heavy, silvery black eyebrow raised as a smirk played on his lips, "borrow?"

Crowley's hand clasped down on Dean's shoulder as he whispered into his ear, "you don't borrow the Mark you idiot."

Dean shrugged him off and with a roll of his eyes looked back up to the man on the stairs, "fine, relieve you of the burden, or whatever you want to say. I need the damn Mark to save my brother and my friend and bring this zombie infested shit hole back to some semblance of a good place. Are you gonna help me or not?"

Zoe felt her entire body contract underneath Daryl's frame, her fingers digging into his back as she let out a moan and arched off the bed against him. He could feel the pressure building inside of him and before he knew what had hit him it all but exploded inside of him, his body slamming against Zoe's on final time as a long groan escaped his lips, his body collapsing against hers as he sank his teeth into her shoulder, his arms wrapping around her slender frame as he slowly came down from his high. The two lay where they were for a while, Zoe's hands tracing patterns across Daryl's broad shoulders as his breathing slowly came back to normal before he slid off of her and removed the rubber letting it drop unceremoniously to the floor. Zoe watched his muscles sliding and shifting underneath his skin as he moved back to lay down on his stomach beside her. He watched her cautiously as she propped herself up onto one arm facing him, her other hand slowly coming to trace the lines of the scars lacing his back.

"What happened?" her voice was soft and careful.

Daryl's eyes seemed to darken at her question as he rolled onto his back, though instead of ignoring it or lying like he usually did he found himself wanting to be honest with her, and so he explained everything. The family life he had experienced, the relationship he had had with his older brother, even the way everything had changed after they had found Rick and the others. He told her about Merle cutting off his hand and the rather confusing devastation he had felt when he had seen him gnawing on a body in the middle of the farm. He told her everything and never once felt any apprehension or fear about saying it. Zoe listened, not saying anything, never judging or interrupting she just let him speak until he finally fell silent and simply stared at the ceiling for a while before looking over at her. Very carefully, she pressed her lips to his, her hand coming to rest across his chest as she slowly slipped her leg across his waist and straddled him, her tongue sliding across his as she pressed her hips back against him. Daryl's mouth fell open as she finally slid her body down over him stopping momentarily to revel in the feeling of being that close to another person before she started to move, sliding up and down against him, her eyes closing as the sensation pulsed through her very bones. This time was slower, more sensual and for both of them, for the first time in what felt like forever, they felt like they were actually in sync with another person, touching and feeling and moving together, wanting the other to feel as good as they did. They were wanting the other to enjoy every moment, wanting them to feel every movement, every touch, and every kiss until they finally got to that soul achingly blissful pleasure point. They wanting each other to feel amazing as opposed to rushing through with frantic movements to feed their own personal desire, though neither of them knew it yet, they were experiencing what so many others had felt before, they were experiencing the beginnings of being in love.

"Listen to me Dean Winchester," Crowley's voice was harsh inside of Dean's head. His body ached from head to toe, like he had been thrown underneath a bus and dragged out by his toenails.  
>"What you are feeling right now is not death, it's life. A new kind of life. Open your eyes Dean, see what I see, feel what I feel. Let's go take a howl at the moon and kill that little smarmy bitch," Crowley's words seemed to stir something deep within him, something utterly primal and wild. Like a caged animal being unchained and released into the world, free to kill, free to tear flesh from bone and seek the revenge it so badly deserved.<p>

"Get up!"

Dean's eyes flew open, enormous orbs the colour of death, a pair of shining, bottomless black pits like Crowley had never seen before.


	13. The devil you know

Authors note: Thanks to everyone who has followed and added this bad boy to their favourites. It's truly encouraging. I have diverted quite a bit from the original story lines here, though I guess that's the beauty of fan fics is that you can do that! So don't hate me for it please! and please do comment if you can, it always keeps me motivated and makes me really happy to know that people are enjoying what I'm doing (or equally gives me things to improve on too which is also awesome!).

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 13**

When Zoe and Daryl finally walked back into the church in the early hours of the morning Sam was in a fit of what Zoe could only see as being rage and concern.

"Has Dean been with you guys?" he practically jumped on Zoe as she walked through the doors.

She shook her head slightly, a knot of fear starting to form in her stomach, "no, he was here when we left. Why?"

Sam ran an anxious hand through his hair and looked out at the windows momentarily, "he's gone. We were getting the weapons and stuff ready and then decided to get some sleep and when I woke up he was gone. No note, no nothing."

"Sam calm down," Zoe took a step towards her friend cautiously, "I'm sure he probably just went off to get food or go to the toilet or something. He'll be back, don't worry."

Sam's hazel eyes were enormous in the half-light though, the uncertainty and apprehension clear in his face, "he hasn't done this since the day this whole apocalypse stuff started. Why now?"

Zoe sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and shrugged her shoulders a little, "maybe he knew we were safe here so for once he wasn't so worried about being right with us the entire time."

Sam shook his head and turned back to face the enormous looming cross at the front of the room, "I seriously hope you're right on that."

The group spent the better part of the next two days gathering as much material as they could to barricade and reinforce the church. They managed to manufacture pointed lengths of wood to stick at the front of the doorway to stop any stray walkers from getting up against the door. Sam and Zoe had spent their day carving and fixing them in place, making sure they were secure and weren't going to fall over if someone or something so much as bumped them. By the time they had finished the sun was well into its descent and nearly disappearing behind the horizon and there was still no sign of Dean anywhere. Sam was starting to get edgy and Zoe couldn't for the life of her think of what to tell him to make it okay. Dean hadn't been MIA like that in a long time, not without at least leaving them a note or some sort of indication that he had actively made a decision to go.

"He'll come back Sam," she half whispered as the two sat on the steps at the front of the church looking at the barricade they had created.

"In light of everything Zoe," Sam turned to face her with a sad look, "I'm not so sure he will."

"What do you mean in light of everything?"

Sam let out a long sigh as he leaned his elbows against his knees, "he's been signed up for a potential death wish with this Mark of Cain stuff. He knew full well he couldn't really save you no matter how hard he tried and even if he did manage to save you, he still doesn't save the world. We are here now with a group of people that seem to believe this whole thing has a cure, they still harbour hope for something better and yet I think he still feels like this is the means to an uncertain end. He doesn't see the world being saved like these people and once again he has to sacrifice his life and the lives of those he loves for a cause he doesn't even really believe in. We fought and fought and fought to save people just for them to end up walking corpses. So you tell me Zoe, after ten years of this, after losing everything and everyone that was ever important, wouldn't you walk away as well?"

She watched as Sam swatted angrily at the tears forming in his eyes before standing up, mumbling something about securing windows and walking off into the church. She sat there for a long time as the sun bled out entirely, listening to the hushed voices inside talking about what they needed to prepare for storming the city and devising a clear plan of action so no one got lost. Just as she was about to go inside and talk shop with the others the rustling of the trees in front of her drew her attention back. She watched wide eyed as Dean stepped out and into the opening, his body rigid and the look in his eye menacing as he smiled up at the young girl on the steps.

"Dean?" her eyes were wide as he walked towards her. She was about to jump from the bottom step when the familiar towering figure of Castiel appeared in front of her, stopping her dead, his hand outstretched as if to protect her.

"Cas, what the…" she tried to duck around him but he simply pushed her back onto the step, his body tense as he glanced over his shoulder at her.

"He is not what or who you think he is," Castiel said simply, his blue eyes trailing up to see Sam walk out onto the deck and stop dead. He could see it too, something was wrong with his brother, he knew it as well as if it were something wrong with himself.

"Ah angel boy," Dean smirked as he came to stand just beyond the spike guarded entrance, "I was wondering when your bleeding soul would show up."

"Bleeding soul?" Sam exclaimed, a look of scepticism on his haggard features, "what the Hell is wrong with you Dean? Where have you been?"

"I've been busy Sammy and there isn't a single thing wrong with me," as he spoke his eyes flickered to that same endless shimmering black, "in fact I've never in my life felt so damn good."

One of Zoe's hands balled around the material on Castiel's sleeve, the other coming to her mouth as she stared at the unnerving sight before her. Sam had joined Castiel on the bottom stair, his body shielding Zoe as he did so, some untapped part of him knowing full well what the demon was there for.

"You know," Dean turned and started pacing to his right slowly, "I spoke to that brother of yours earlier."

Zoe's eyes went wide, her hands falling away as she stared at Dean from behind the two boys, "you what?"

"Yeah," Dean turned and paced back in the other direction casually, "he's actually pretty alright. He also told me about his plans for the earth and that you were attempting to stop him from doing it all. You know I couldn't help but feel like I could relate. I mean, you've been leeching off of me and Sammy here for that long now it feels like we haven't been able to do our jobs or live our lives for the last ten years."

"Shut it Dean," Sam barked angrily.

"But your brother has offered me a little trade, if I bring you to him unharmed he will perform his little ceremony, take what he needs from you and then, because I'm the lucky one that carries the very weapon that can separate you two, I get the uncanny opportunity to cut that pathetic heart of yours right out of your chest," the grin he gave was nothing short of terrifying, "and by God will I enjoy doing it."

"Dean!"

"Do not listen to him, he doesn't mean what he is saying," Castiel exclaimed, though he knew full well that Zoe would take in every single word that the eldest Winchester said. She would follow him to the ends of the earth and into the depths of Hell if he asked her to and when he glanced over his shoulder he could already see the thin film of water covering her eyes.

"You were nothing but a colossal pain in everyone's asses and you know it!" Dean was standing stock still now, his shoulders taught as he pulled what Sam thought looked like a mangled jaw bone with a handle from his belt, "if we had of gotten rid of you all those years ago maybe all those people we once cared about wouldn't have died. Maybe we would have stood a chance!"  
>"Enough Dean!" Sam went to step forwards but felt Castiel's hand on his shoulder and instead remained where he was, "you're lying, Zoe has helped us from the day we found her right up until now. Whatever it is that is possessing your sorry ass is making you say this crap."<p>

"I'm not possessed Sammy," Dean's eyebrows narrowed as a wicked smile spread across his face, "this is exactly who I am and you can mark my words, little Nephilim, when the time comes, I will kill you."

And with one last look at the three standing on the steps, he was gone and as the two men turned to look at Zoe she could practically feel her heart crack and splinter right down the very middle, her legs giving way beneath her as she sank to the step and let her head fall into her hands.


	14. Scar

Authors note: Thanks to everyone who has followed and added this bad boy to their favourites. It's truly encouraging. I have diverted quite a bit from the original story lines here, though I guess that's the beauty of fan fics is that you can do that! So don't hate me for it please! and please do comment if you can, it always keeps me motivated and makes me really happy to know that people are enjoying what I'm doing (or equally gives me things to improve on too which is also awesome!).

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 14**

"He won't hurt you I swear," Sam was kneeling in front of Zoe, his hazel eyes fierce as he spoke, "he doesn't want to hurt you either so don't worry. Nothing will happen."

Castiel, however, did not look quite as sure, "Sam, we don't know how bad this is, we can't be certain that Dean won't try something."

"No way Cas," Sam stood, rounding on the angel, "I know my brother, and I know he won't hurt Zoe. He cares about her like a sister, he cares about her as much as he cares about me and whatever it is that is inside of him won't make him kill her."

"He said nothing was possessing him Sam," Zoe said swiping the stray tear from her eye as she spoke, "maybe it really is just Dean in there and nothing else."

"You saw his eyes Zo, he wasn't human, he's not himself and you have to have some faith that he will fight whatever it is that is inside of him, no matter what that may be."

Before Zoe could protest any further the back door to the church swung open and Rick stepped out onto the landing, "everything okay out here?"

The three looked up and nodded in unison, the tortured looks on each of their faces telling him that they were far from okay, though he knew better than to question it.

"Well come on in, we are finalising the plans for tomorrow and having something to eat," he held the door for them, watching closely as Castiel trailed in after Sam. Just as Zoe was about to walk through though he stopped her, nodding to the side of the landing as the door closed quietly.

"I want you to know," his voice had taken on a severity, almost like a protective father, "whatever it is that you choose to do or not do with Daryl does make an impact on this group. You don't strike me as the sort of girl that would just sleep with someone randomly…"

Zoe couldn't stop the scoff that escaped her lips, a sadness in her eyes as she half whispered, "you may have struck out there."

"But," he continued, ignoring her comment, "that man doesn't exactly give his affections over easily. It took us a long time to get to this point with him, there was a lot of anger and uncertainty and everything that goes with that. Now, I don't know how or why but he seems to trust you, seems to really like you too. All I'm askin is that you don't destroy that part of him and make it hard for everyone. Once he retracts inside of himself again I can't see him comin' back out."

Zoe's guarded blue eyes met Rick's for a long moment and without needing to say anything further she simply nodded at him before they went back inside the church.

No matter what Zoe did, how she lay down, how she breathed or even how she sat sleep just wouldn't come. After a while she found herself standing at the window watching the darkness beyond through the cracks in the wood as the rest of the group slept in various spots around the room. She was so busy getting lost inside of her head that she barely noticed when Daryl came to stand beside her quietly, his eyes heavy with sleep.

"What're y'doin' up?" he mumbled, his voice gravelly in the darkness.

"Couldn't sleep," she whispered back, smiling to herself slightly at the memory of their night together in the house.

"Anythin' I can do to help?"

She turned to lean against the window sill facing him and shook her head slightly, "no, you should probably get back and get some rest. Big day tomorrow."

He nodded in response, and as if he hadn't even considered what he was doing reached down and linked his fingers through hers. A move that seemed to surprise even him as he spoke, "why don't y'come with me. Might be able to help ya sleep."

Zoe looked down to their hands as Rick's words came screaming back to her, _all I'm askin is that you don't destroy that part of him and make it hard for everyone._ She paused for a moment longer before nodding and letting him lead her over to where he had been sleeping before. She watched as he lowered himself to the ground and without giving it too much thought she lay down next to him, her back pressed against his chest as he wrapped an arm protectively over her stomach, his breath tickling the hairs on the back of her neck. It didn't take long before Zoe slipped into a dreamless sleep, something she had not had in very long time.

"Who the Hell are these guys?" Dawn was standing with her hands on her hips, staring at the two new comers sitting in the chairs of the Officer's quarters, thin streams of early morning light illuminating the dust particles floating around them. The Officer's piercing blue eyes took in Dawn's figure standing in the doorway, though she didn't seem to notice the flicker of red that glazed over his irises as he smiled devilishly at her.

Dean had sauntered over to where the officer stood placing his hands on either side of the door frame, pressing his body forwards accentuating the strong lines of his arms and his broad shoulders. He gave the uniform clad policewoman a stunning smile before whispering, "We're old acquaintances and who are you?"

The woman shifted uncomfortably underneath his hungry gaze before straightening up somewhat, "_Officer_ Dawn Lerner," she cocked her eyebrow at him before settling her eyes on the man behind her, "Sir, there was a gun shot just…"

"Lerner," the young man's blue eyes seemed to cloud over with annoyance, "whatever the hell it was you heard or you think you heard, I don't care. Go sort it out and leave us be."

The woman stood for a moment, her eyes flickering between the three men before she finally sucked in a sharp breath, turned on her heel and stalked out of the room. Dean watched as she strode off and disappeared around the corner before turning back to face the other two.

"Seems like a sweet deal you got going here Tobias," Dean said with a beaming smile as he threw himself into the chair next to Crowley.

Crowley shot him a bored look before going back to staring out of the window at the rapidly lightening sky beyond.

"It is," the young man returned the grin and placed his feet back up onto the desk, "the only thing that could make it better was knowing that I had it for as long as I wanted it."

As his arms came to rest behind his head Dean couldn't help but notice the rather fresh scar on the man's arm, four simple words that looked as though they had been butchered into his skin with the end of a butter knife. _You can't hide forever_ as Dean read and reread the words something inside of him seemed to twitch, almost like the slow burn of a dwindling flame, something that unsettled him.

"What's with the chicken scratching?" Crowley asked almost as if reading Dean's thoughts.

Tobias looked up to his arm with a smile, "oh just a little reminder for that dear sibling of mine."

Crowley nodded in response, seemingly losing all interest right then and there.

"Come, let me show you the rest of this place," Tobias clapped his hands together gleefully, then turned to Dean with a chilling grin, "I have quite the young lady for you my friend."

Crowley shrugged and before either of the two could say anything he was standing by the window, his brown eyes unreadable as he spoke, "I'm going to pass lads, I've got some other little fishies to fry," and with a click of his fingers he was gone.

Tobias turned back to Dean and draping his arms across the other man's shoulders started to steer him out of the office and into the hall. Though no matter how hard he tried, Dean's eyes seemed to keep finding their way back to the scar on Tobias's arm. There was something about those words that unnerved him, he knew Zoe had been marked with the same and it was abundantly clear where they had come from, but it bothered Dean on a level that he simply could not understand. Whether it was the demon inside of him not grasping it or whether it was something else, he wasn't sure, but those four simple words were inside his head, and they didn't seem to want to leave.


	15. Belly of the Beast

Authors note: Thanks to everyone who has followed and added this bad boy to their favourites. It's truly encouraging. I have diverted quite a bit from the original story lines here, though I guess that's the beauty of fan fics is that you can do that! So don't hate me for it please! and please do comment if you can, it always keeps me motivated and makes me really happy to know that people are enjoying what I'm doing (or equally gives me things to improve on too which is also awesome!).

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 15**

Zoe stood quietly watching the two remaining police officers kneeling on the ground. Sasha was still nursing the wound on her head and refusing to look at any of the others despite Tyreese's attempts to help her. Rick and the others had only just walked through the doors when Zoe had explained what had happened, she hadn't had the nerve to shoot the man and even though Rick had told her he didn't blame her, she still felt guilty as hell. It didn't take long before Rick came storming back into the loft, his eyes menacing as he stared at the two kneeling on the floor.

"I take it you heard the gunshot?" he rested his hands on his belt and waited for an answer.

The two officers shared a quick glance before the female spoke, "no idea what you're talking about."

Rick nodded slightly, his eyes still boring into them, "I don't want to start fights here, I want to get my people back and be on our way. One casualty is more than we bargained for, so for everyone's lives, can we agree that your officer was taken by walkers."

There was a long silence as the two shared a lingering look, "that's what we saw. Nothing anyone could have done to stop it."

Rick gave the two a brief nod before turning to face his own group, "we need to get a move on this. We can't waste more time than we already have."

Sam was just putting the last few nails into the board on the door when Crowley appeared on the bench behind him.

"Ah Moose, putting those strong antlers to work I see."

Crowley barely even blinked before Sam was standing over him with Ruby's knife at his throat and the heavy hammer raised above the demon's head.

"Calm down Sam," the younger Winchester balked at Crowley's use of his name, "I'm not here to start fights or cause damage. I'm here to ask your help."

"My help?" Sam had to supress the laugh that rose to the back of his throat, "why do you need my help? You already stole my brother and sentenced him to a fate worse than death."

"He's out of control Sam," there was a sincerity in Crowley's voice that Sam hadn't heard before, "he's made alliances with Zoe's brother and I am… concerned, he'll make the wrong choices."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Sam lowered the hammer, though kept the knife steady where it was.

"I want you to convince him that he can do better," the demon said with a sigh.

"Better? You're better are you?" Sam tried to suppress the annoyance and humour in his voice.

Crowley's eyes narrowed as he stood, "I'm better than that little punk. And your brotherly affections might just be enough to pull him from this little spiral."

Sam shook his head slightly, his thoughts running rampant as he tried to get a handle on what was happening, "no way. He's a demon Crowley. You did this to him, you turned him, and he's your responsibility. _You_ fix this."

The younger Winchester turned to walk away, his heart hammering in his chest as he went to move.

"That's what I am _trying_ to do Sam," Crowley's voice rang out in the church, cracking slightly as he stuffed his hands in his pockets awkwardly, "I'm trying to make this better. Trying to get this boy back to something that resembles the demon I wanted him to be."

"Wanted him to be?"

"Yes."

Sam folded his arms over his broad chest, "and what sort of demon, exactly, was it that you wanted _my brother_ to be."

Crowley let out another long sigh, "the kind that helps me annihilate that little bitch Abaddon and then spends some time in Hell with me, you know, doing all the fun things; torture, maiming, that sort of thing."

Sam's face seemed to fall a little as a slow realisation sunk in, "you wanted a friend?"

"Please Moose," Crowley scoffed, "I wanted a lackey."

Sam raised his eyebrows and nodded, though he didn't believe it for a second, "sure."

"Are you going to help me or not?" Crowley asked impatiently.

Sam took a long moment to consider it. He knew full well if he went there to try and convince Dean that he didn't have to go down that path he wouldn't turn back into a human, he would still be demonic and Crowley would get what he wanted. Though Sam couldn't stand by and willingly let his brother be turned into a heinous monster either. As their Dad had said countless times to him in the past, 'the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing' and he couldn't just sit by and do nothing. It _was_ Dean after all.

"Fine."

Dean's disturbingly bright green eyes watched as the officer went sailing down the elevator chute, the young girl standing beside him looking less traumatised than he had expected as the body hit the ground with a sickening thud and the sound of hungry zombies came floating up to greet them.

"Fantastic work you two," Tobias said with a devilish grin as he came through the double doors at the end of the hallway, "I never would have expected you to pull that off."

Lerner was leaning against the wall breathing hard, her hand resting on her ribs as she stood up straighter and spoke directly to the young man, "did you plan this Sir?"

Tobias rounded on her, his eyes like two black pits as he walked closer to her, "what do you think officer? Would someone like me plan this sort of a stunt?"

The woman's eyes wavered slightly as she tried to match his gaze, "I don't know Sir, it seems a little evil that someone would willingly have another person attack them and then have that person pushed down an elevator chute."

Tobias folded his arms over his chest and gave her a smile, "evil. I like that word. It seems oddly fitting for this situation, don't you think?"

Dean grinned behind Tobias, his face almost distorting into something sinister looking as Lerner remained silent, her eyes glancing between the two men. Beth remained stock still, her expression blank as she watched the situation unfolding before her. Something was wrong with what was going on, it wasn't the same as when people did bad things, this felt bigger, darker and no matter which way Beth looked at it, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was going to get way out of hand.

"I think this is probably more messed up than I care to realise, but you do run this compound so who am I to question Sir," Lerner said in a clipped tone.

Tobias's eyes shone with a menace that sent a cold shiver down the woman's spine. He casually walked right up to her, his hands coming to rest on the wall on either side of her head as he leaned forwards.

Lerner kept her eyes downcast, not daring to meet his gaze as he spoke, "I think what you care to realise and what you understand a very different things. Do not make me do something I'm going to regret."

Dean found his eyes going to the words etched into Tobias's arm, his stomach knotting again as he watched the clear show of dominance playing out before him. Beth remained where she was, unwavering and seemingly unperturbed by the whole thing, until she turned to Dean and whispered, almost totally inaudibly, "you have no idea the kind of evil in this place. Don't let him do this to us. Don't let him win."

Dean was about to reply when Tobias's voice rang out in the hallway and brought him back to the situation at hand.

"Now," Tobias pushed off of the wall and came to stand straight once more, "everyone get out of here, we have work to be done."

Without even a backwards glance the two women walked out through the double doors and back into the hospital wing.

"Got to keep them in line right?" Tobias said turning to face Dean with a grin.

"Nice trick getting them to get rid of that idiot though."

"People are gullible, that's how I got to this point. Trust me Dean, the things we will be able to accomplish once I get this world under my control, nothing is beyond us now. We have the entire world at our feet," the younger man clapped his hand down on Dean's shoulder with a fearsome smile. Dean returned the smile though something wasn't sitting right with him Beth's words rang out in his head like gunfire and yet for some reason he didn't bother telling Tobias.

"You coming or what?" Tobias was already standing at the doors, his hand poised on the handle as Dean shook himself from his little day dream.

"Yeah," and without a second thought he wandered out of the hallway after the other man.

"I've got two of your people and you have two of mine, it's simple, I want them back, and I'm willing to make a trade for them," Rick was standing out in the open, his hands on his belt and his gun at his feet as he waited for the two new officers to make a move.

The two men shared a fleeting glance before looking back to Rick, "we can't afford to lose more people. How do we know you haven't killed those two officers?"

"You're just going to have to trust me, Licari and Shepherd are safe and I'll bring them to your hospital to make the trade, if that's what it takes," Rick replied icily.

The two exchanged another look before one of them shrugged and nodded in an almost defeated sort of manner, "fine, bring them to the hospital and we will make a trade. If this turns out to be even in the slightest bit off though, trust me, we will kill you and your band of brothers too."

Rick met their gazes, his eyes unwavering and filled with a primal sort of rage, "you can try."

And without another word he gave a nod to the team positioned up on the buildings before bending down to pick up his gun and holstering it once more.  
>"We'll follow you there."<p>

Sam took a few more shuddering breaths to try and stop the rather vacant contents of his stomach from coming back up.

"You Winchester's aren't good with travel are you?" Crowley was leaning against the wall next to Sam as he hesitantly straightened up.

"Shut up Crowley," though there was no real venom in Sam's retort, "where's Dean?"

"Right this way baby Winchester," Crowley nodded down the hallway, pushing off from the wall and falling into step with Sam as he started towards the doors at the very end of the corridor.

The two had barely gotten halfway down the hall when they were met with the sight of Zoe and the others walking towards them, two police officers they had never seen before following behind them.

"Sammy?" Zoe's eyes practically lit up as she broke into a half jog towards the younger Winchester, stopping almost instantly when she saw Crowley, "what's going on?"

Sam was about to reply when Dean's voice echoed down the hallway behind him, "he's here to try and save me."

Sam turned to face his brother standing barely even five metres away, "Dean."

"I told you if I got you here unharmed I'd get to cut your little heart out," Dean gave Zoe a heart wrenching smile, his eyes going the scarily familiar pitch black as before, "and look at that, here you are."

Zoe went to speak though found her voice getting caught in the back of her throat, her eyes going wide as Tobias stepped out from one of the rooms, coming to stand beside Dean. In amongst the brief exchange Crowley seemed to have completely disappeared leaving Sam to fend for himself with the rest of the group.

"Ah Zoe," his voice was as smooth and cold as polished steel, "it's good to see you again sister."

She felt her hands tremble slightly at her sides, the hospital staff coming out into the hallway with Carol in a wheelchair and Beth standing behind her. Zoe's shoulders slumped forwards a little as the full weight of the situation hit her, her eyes going from the scared faces of those hospital workers behind the boys and back to her brother then to Dean.

"Now what?" she whispered, a cold line of fear trailing down her spine.

Dean's usually handsome face twisted into a menacing, twisted grin as he slid the first blade from his belt, Tobias speaking for him "now," her brother's eyes flared a demonic red, "you get to be my sacrifice."


	16. Fate

Authors note: Thanks to everyone who has followed and added this bad boy to their favourites. It's truly encouraging. It's been a fun ride and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. New fic to come soon as well so please come back soon Safe and happy holidays to everyone!

Thanks for reading.

**Chapter 16**

"You don't have to do this Dean," Sam tried to reason, moving so his body was shielding Zoe, "you're better than this."

The older Winchester let out a bitter cackle, "please Sam, I've been waiting for this. To have the privilege of gutting her like an animal is just too much to pass up."

Sam shook his head his brain clicking over at a millions miles a second, though Zoe spoke from behind him first, "do the exchange first then, let the others go. They have nothing to do with this. We didn't drag them into our mess so they could become collateral damage."

Tobias's eyes flared for a moment before he turned to look at the two women waiting to get back to their friends.

"Please, they have no part in this just let them go!" Zoe stepped out from behind Sam, her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides, "they're good people Toby."

The man across from her almost visibly cringed at the familiar shortening of his name, "fine, give them their people."

"We ain't leaving here without these guys too," Daryl barked from behind Zoe, his shoulders taught with anxiety though his eyes were steady as he spoke.

Rick nodded slightly and came to stand beside his friend, "they're just as much a part of this group as anyone else is. We won't leave without them."

Tobias's piercing red irises drew over each of them slowly before a deadly smile spread across his face, "then you'll all just have to watch her die."

"No!" Zoe turned to face Daryl and Rick her heart racing in her chest as her enormous blue eyes met theirs, "get your people out of here. We never asked you to be a part of this, we know the kinds of dangers our lives lend themselves to. Please, you have a chance to live, to survive, don't throw that away for us."

Sam turned to look over his shoulder briefly, one eye still on Dean and Tobias as he spoke, "we aren't worth your lives. Trust me."

There was a sincerity and a sad sort of resignation in Sam's words that sparked something inside of Daryl, something fierce and primal, like he would go to the ends of the earth to protect the two in front of him. There was so much more going on in that situation than he realised but he simply couldn't bare even the thought of walking away from the newest members of their group, they were just as much a part of that family as anyone else was.

"No. We're in this together," Daryl said with a fierce glare, "we never leave our own behind. That's why we're here, why we came all this way to get those two, we ain't leavin' without you."

Rick's hand had come to rest on his gun as Daryl spoke, his eyebrows narrowing as he watched the two men across from them looking ridiculously smug.

"As much as I adore this little lover's quarrel you have going on here, we have a sacrifice to make, and a world to rule," Tobias's red eyes glanced over his shoulder at Carol and Beth, "take the two girls and leave. Or you can stay and watch your little friends get sent to the slaughter house. Either way."

Dean looked over to where Beth had started to push Carol forwards in the wheelchair, her eyes focused dead ahead of her as she tried desperately to keep a steady pace walking towards the rest of the group though all she wanted to do was run to them. As soon as she got within an arms distance she let Tyreese take the back of Carol's wheelchair with a grateful nod as she turned back to face Dean and Tobias. Something in the set of her shoulders, in the determination in her eye resinated with Dean, he remembered seeing that same resilient and defiant look in his brother's eyes so many times before. He knew the thinly veiled anger, the remarkable and unwavering bravery and courage in her face, he had seen Sammy with the same look a hundred times before. He had seen it in Sam when he was facing off against their Dad, he'd seen it when Sam had stood up to Lucifer, when he had laid down arms to protect his older brother countless times before. Dean knew the look in Beth's eyes and as his own irises rose to meet Sam's he saw the exact same look reflected there, the same look that was in Zoe's eyes as well.

This group was stronger than they had given them credit for. They were steadfast and completely united and nothing in that world or any other was going to tear them apart. Something inside of Dean seemed to twinge, like a spot fire blazing into existence as he watched Sam's hand slowly link with Zoe's, their fingers lacing together forming a seemingly indestructible bond. Dean was only vaguely aware of Tobias speaking beside him, too preoccupied with the internal war blazing inside of his very soul. When he finally dragged himself back into the real world though his eyes were no longer the pitch black they had been before, though the look on his face was still steely and resolute. In the time that Dean had been forging his own internal battle Beth had come to stand nearly face to face with Tobias, her blue eyes filled with an anger that none of them had ever seen before and when she spoke, her voice was steady, dark and totally smooth.

"I get what you're doing here. I get that you want this world to belong to you," her eyebrows narrowed slightly as she looked up into his blood red eyes, "but you can't rule us. You can't break us. As long as you live in this world, we will be looking for you, we will be doing everything we can to survive, and make damn sure that this world doesn't fall to your reign."

Tobias gave her a devilish grin, "you don't stand a chance against me."

Before anyone had a chance to react Beth had plunged a set of surgical scissors into Tobias's shoulder sending him reeling backwards, Zoe mimicking his actions beside Sam as he did so. Before he fell too far though his hand came to grab Beth's wrist, the barrel of his now un-holstered gun coming to rest against the underside of her chin as his finger pulled back on the trigger. An ungodly bang resounded in the hallway as the bullet ripped through her skull, blood splattering against the wall as her lifeless body fell to the ground.

Everything from there seemed to go in slow motion, Sam heard Daryl's pained scream from behind him as he pulled his own gun from his belt, the barrel turning towards Tobias's head as he stepped forwards.

"No!" Sam's hand connected with Daryl's just as he pulled the trigger, the bullet ripping from the gun and slamming straight into the boy's stomach. Daryl was already stalking towards Tobias, his finger about to let off another round when Sam's voice tore through him like a lightning strike.

"Zoe!"

As Daryl turned back to look behind him, his gun still raised in the air he felt his heart lurch inside of his chest. Sam had Zoe lying in his lap, his hand pressing against her stomach as a pool of blood stained the front of her shirt and trickled down onto the floor at his knees. Realisation and a sickening sort of dread spread its way through his whole body as Tobias's bitter, gurgled laugh filled the hallway.

"Well done genius," he coughed, blood pooling in his mouth, "you just killed her!"

Daryl's hand slowly came back to his side, his blue eyes filling with a watery film as he looked from Beth's tiny frame to Zoe's pale face on the floor.

"You _killed_ her!" Tobias's voice was cut short though as he began coughing up more blood. Daryl's face had gone a sickly shade of grey as he stared down at the scene before him.

Zoe was gasping for air, she could feel her lungs heaving underneath her ribcage, desperately trying to expand and fill themselves. Sam's bloodied hand came to rest on her forehead wiping a strand of hair from her face as he shook his head.

"It'll be fine Zo, we're going to be just fine," he whispered, his voice shaking as he tried to smile through the stream of tears that were pooling in his hazel eyes. She forced a half smile back at him just as her body was wracked with a fit of coughing, the metallic taste of blood rising in the back of her throat.

"Dean?" Sam's tear streaked face rose to meet his brother's as he adjusted Zoe into a sitting position, blood streaming from her mouth, "help. Please. What am I supposed to do?"

The older Winchester blinked a few times, his green eyes watching as Zoe writhed on the floor in Sam's arms.

"Dean!"

Zoe heard the desperation in Sam's voice as she closed her eyes, her body aching in a way she never thought possible and her eyelids heavier than she could bear.

"Zoe, hang on, please, you're going to be fine. _DEAN! Please!_"

She could still feel her chest rising and falling, though far more shallow this time.

"Zoe?"

This voice was different. It was familiar but, almost angelic.

"Hey little one, open your eyes."

Zoe very slowly, and painfully opened her eyes. A familiar set of almost golden brown ones were staring down at her.

"Hey kiddo."

A sad smile spread over her face, though it felt different, like it wasn't her body she was controlling, as if she were separate somehow.

"John?"

The older man kneeling beside her rose up onto his feet, his hand extending down to her as he moved, "it's good to see you Zo."

"How?" her voice sounded muffled and distant to her ears.

"Stand up, it'll make more sense," John said with a smile, his hand stretching out to her. Without a second thought she reached up and took hold of him, his hand wrapping around hers gently and pulling her to her feet. A cold shiver rippled through her body as she came to stand in front of John, confusion clear on her features as she turned back to look at Sam, her body still in his arms as he wrapped his arms tighter around her squeezing her to him. She could almost feel the pressure against her arms.

"I'm sorry kid," John wrapped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her to his side gently.

"What now?" she whispered, her head falling against his chest.

John planted a soft kiss against her head as he hugged her a little tighter against him, "now you watch over them."

She could feel a lump forming in the back of her throat as she watched Sam's expression fall, realisation taking over him as he looked down at her surprisingly peaceful features.

"Zoe?" Sam's voice broke as he shook the young girl's now limp body in his arms.

"Zoe come on, I can't. I just…" his watery hazel eyes rose to meet Dean's empty green ones before falling back on Zoe's lifeless body, his voice barely a whisper this time, "Zoe?"

Zoe turned her face against John's chest, his arms wrapping around her tightly as she desperately tried to block out the sound of Sam begging her to come back.

"I can't do this without you Zoe please," Sam was whispering in her ear, so quietly no one but them could hear it, and even though she was standing with John she could still hear his voice as if she were in Sam's arms, "I can't face Dean alone Zoe, please. I can't lose both of you."

Zoe slowly stepped back from John, her blue eyes ablaze as she turned to face Dean standing absently staring at Sam and Zoe. Without skipping a beat John slowly walked towards his son, his eyebrows narrowing slightly when he came to a halt at Dean's side.

"Zoe?" John's voice sounded almost fearful, "what's the matter with him?"

Zoe shook her head and glanced back at Sam briefly, "he's taken on the Mark of Cain. He tried to save me John, but it just took over. I don't know how but he's some sort of demon or something, he did it for us though, like always," She couldn't bear to meet the man's gaze as she spoke.

"Always the head strong idiot," John whispered with a sad shake of his head. Zoe didn't hear what he said after that though, her interest had gone to where Daryl was now kneeling over Beth's body, his dirt covered face was streaked with tear lines as he desperately wiped at the water still free flowing from his murky blue eyes.

Zoe couldn't stop the tears that bubbled over and streamed down her face as she watched Daryl slowly slide his hands underneath the girl's tiny body and gently lifted her lifeless form from the floor.

"Dad?" Zoe's eyes went wide as she turned to see Dean staring quite openly at John, "what…"

"You listen to me young man. I don't know what the hell it is you have inside of you and I don't care what Mark you're carrying around, you need to get a grip on this and _wake up_. I asked you to look after your brother Dean, I _told you_ he would need help and here you are stalking around like your Lucifer. Sammy needs you, now more than ever. You already let Zoe get killed, if I have to come down here and take another one of my kids before their time is up, I swear to everything we hold dear Dean, it'll be _your_ head I take. Do I make myself clear?" Zoe watched, wide eyed as Dean seemed to almost physically shake himself, his eyes filling with the overwhelming life and ferocity she had come to love so dearly over the years.

"Yes Sir," he whispered.

Zoe watched awe struck as Dean slowly walked over to where his little brother was kneeling, his hand coming to rest on Sam's shoulder as he knelt down on the other side of Zoe. Sam flinched against his brother's hand though as he slowly raised his eyes to face Dean a flood of relief washed through him.

"I'm sorry Sammy," Dean whispered, watching as his little brother completely broke down, his body wracked with sobs as he leaned forwards, hugging Zoe's body tighter against him as Dean sat silently, his hand resting on his Sam's shoulder, his own grief slowly getting heavier as he listened to his little brother cry.

"Come on kiddo," John's arms wrapped around Zoe's shoulder lightly, "we gotta go."

"But," she looked up at him through teary eyes.

"They'll be okay Zoe. They always are."

Sam woke with a start, his body aching and sore as he slowly sat up. He was in the passenger seat of the Impala, Dean sitting next to him staring out of the window absently.

"Dean?" Sam felt his voice tremble.

"It wasn't a dream Sammy," Dean spoke without looking at his brother, "I still have the Mark and we get to start over."

Sam glanced out at the road beside them, there were no abandoned cars, no lifeless bodies roaming the streets. It was as if none of it had ever happened. He spun around in his seat, looking into the enormous backseat of the car and felt an overwhelming sadness wrack his body.

Dean ran a hand through his hair and turned to face Sam, his eyes veiled by a thin watery film, "she's gone Sammy."

The younger Winchester slowly turned back around in his chair, his heart heavy in his chest, "now what?"

Dean grabbed the keys from the console, slid the key into the ignition and let the engine roar into life, taking the slightest bit of comfort in the familiarity of the sound, "we do what we've always done Sam. We hunt things, we save people, we use this second chance to make sure this never happens again. We can't bring people back, but we can save those that are left."

Sam stayed quiet for a long moment as they pulled out into the buzzing, early morning traffic, "I'm sorry about Zoe, Dean."

Dean's green eyes seemed to flare in the morning sun, his mind straying back to the words he had heard his Dad say in that hospital corridor, his chest tightening as a sickening realisation flooded him, he could have saved her. He could have stopped it before more people had died, but he hadn't. He had let his demons control him, and in that warm morning sunshine, as the Mark on his arm stung like a razor blade biting into his skin, he couldn't help but wonder if that was just the fate he was destined for, if he was just meant to be evil, "me too Sammy. Me too."


End file.
